Talking In Code
by nuclear so and so's
Summary: “Take your shirt off.” I muttered, and I could hear him laugh. “Is it really the time for that, Bella?” he teased, and I groaned.
1. Chapter 1

It was August

It was August. August 1st, but that didn't matter. The point was, it was August. And things were drawing nearer and nearer. My blood seemed to have mixed with something else, formed into something that pumped out nothing but nervousness and excitement, everything radiating off of me at the same time. It was hard to remember what was up and what was down, and as Alice danced around me lovingly, she was literally so excited she was swirling about as I stared into the mirror. I realized that soon, this dress I was wearing would be seen by everyone I had known since my time in Forks.

"You look beautiful, absolutely perfect!" she chirped, clapping. Alice's enthusiasm hadn't stopped in all the time she had been working on the wedding, it seemed to grow more and more as the time went by. As I had told her, I was letting her do whatever she wanted, because we would only do this once—the right way. The idea that I might marry Edward again a million times in the eternity to come since butterflies to my stomach, and my heart raced automatically. I clutched at my stomach and groaned.

I had to admit, the dress did look nice on me. In no way did I look perfect, and Edward could show up covered in mud and tar and he'd still look much better than I did, but the dress still had some nice qualities to it, and having it on wasn't quite as terrible as I had been thinking it would be. To be completely honest, I had been putting off actually slipping the dress on for as long as I could manage; before Alice, completely exasperated, demanded I try it on to make sure it would fit. Of course, she knew good and well it would fit just fine, but she got such pleasure out of the idea of seeing me in it that I glumly agreed to let her put it on. Edward waited outside, probably picking at Alice's thoughts to see just how I looked. I hope Alice had enough tact to think about something else while she saw me in the dress. I didn't want him to see the dress on me already, and I was too worried about what he'd think.

Finally, Alice seemed uninterested in the dress any longer, and I very eagerly let her zip me out of it. Soon, I was back into my normal clothes, and before I was even done pulling open the door, Edward's arms were around me. I looked up in his face and noticed he looked quite smug, something that never meant anything good for me. However, I didn't have time to push the matter, because I was already yawning into his chest. He smiled, his cool fingertips trailing across my cheek.

"You're tired, Bella." He told me, trying to look less like he knew something I didn't know. "I think it's time to take you home." I wanted to protest, still worried about what he was so happy about, but I yawned again, and I knew there was no chance I was getting anything out of him now. It had been a long day; I'd spent the whole day with Alice and Edward making wedding preparations. It had been insanely meaningless tasks, or at least, it seemed to me. Alice showed me napkins and napkin rings, the china patterns for the plates that she had picked out, and the many different forks, knives, and spoons that would be in front of every dinner guest at my wedding. She had once promised I wouldn't have to do a thing, and it seemed all she wanted was my approval. Of course, everything she picked suited me just fine, and she could see in the future what I would say, anyway, but she seemed adamant about going through the motions.

I was so tired that I didn't notice as Edward skillfully scooped me up into his arms and carried me out the door. I didn't bother to protest Edward driving me home; however, he skipped my truck in favor for one of his sleeker, faster cars.

"Why do you seem to be in such a hurry to get me home?" I muttered, cuddling myself into the leather interior. I was much more tired than I thought.

"Just excited for tonight." Edward told me, and my eyebrows furrowed—what was he talking about? "Apparently, Alice made me more sleepy than we meant to." He mused.

Of course, everything he was saying was just turning into useless gibberish, and through my lethargic state I tried to make sense of his words.

"What's tonight?" I asked, and Edward was going even faster than usual-- very excited to get me home, I guessed, but why?

Edward turned to me, flashing a brilliant smile, and I melted. I suddenly forgot what I had been asking. Sooner or later, I was going to have to learn how to get past that trick. "You'll see." Was all he told me, and we were already at my house.

My mind was racing, could it be what I had been hoping for for so long? I didn't think it would be possible, and if it was, I didn't know if I'd be able to control myself. He had tried to give it to me, and I had told him no, but I didn't know if I had that restraint any more. My self-control was hardly there in the first place—I couldn't stand to have it be tested now, when it seemed to be dwindling. I no longer felt tired at all.

Edward had undone my seatbelt and was now helping me out of the car? Why wasn't he carrying me in, busting the door down, doing something? The door seemed so trivial now, and my heartbeat was erratic, it was all I could hear in my ears…

Then, Edward opened the door, and standing calmly in my kitchen as if this was something that happened all the time, were 20 of my closest female acquaintances.

My eyebrows went up and scarlet filled my cheeks. "No." I mouthed, and I automatically turned to hide my face in Edward's chest, even though I was enraged with him at the moment.

It was a bridal shower.

And he had suckered me right in.

Minutes later, Alice was there, obviously very excited that I hadn't made a run for it. Charlie was nowhere to be found, which was good. I didn't expect him to be too happy with the idea of a bridal shower. Since we told him about the engagement, he seemed to get more and more morose as the days dwindled, as if he could sense that I'd be stolen right from under him once Edward and I were married. He had turned quiet, reserved, and he wouldn't talk to me much. I had expected it, but it still hurt when I tried to press and he'd just give me a sad smile and tell me he had to go off to work or go fishing or do something else to get out of the house. It had been a hard few months.

Edward left soon enough, after laughing and whispering in my ear that he would be upstairs. Of course he wouldn't leave; he wouldn't want to miss this. I was going to have to make sure he understood the extent of my anger later.

Over the next hour I didn't know what exactly I was doing. I smiled and played bridal games, hugged a few people and hoped they'd come to the wedding. The minutes felt like hours, and it was mortifying being the center of attention. Once again, Alice was the one putting me into these situations she thought I would just adore. Edward, however, knew better.

Then, something happened to break me out of my reverie. Rosalie, who had been hiding in the back for quite some time, holding a cup of punch that I was sure was probably half-full to begin with, walked toward me with a deliberateness. Her voice seemed slow, calculated, measured.

"Can I speak with you in private?" she asked me, gesturing toward the door. I didn't know why, but I grew nervous. Somehow, I knew whatever the outcome, this would not be good. But I couldn't say no to her, not when I was trying to make sure things were okay between us. We excused ourselves outside and she ran a hand through her perfect hair, everything so perfect on Rosalie.

"I don't want to have to do this." She whispered, "I especially don't want to have to do this tonight, Bella, when you should be enjoying your party. But I have to try."

My throat felt like it was closing, and I wanted to leave, to go back inside. I was too tired for this, whatever it was. I was already panicking, and all she wanted to do was talk.

"There's no way I can talk you out of this?" even though she didn't tell me what she meant, I knew exactly what she was thinking of. I didn't know why we were continuing this conversation. I was well aware, however, of how much what I was doing hurt her.

"I hope you can forgive me," was all I could say, and I was looking at the ground.

I looked up in time to see her nod, stony-faced, silent. "I don't know if that will be possible, but I can try my hardest."

And I didn't know what had happened, but for a second Rosalie's eyes flashed, and I felt something cold wrapping itself around my waist.

"I expected that." Rosalie nodded once again, her voice grim. I turned to see that the cold had been Edward, who was looking at her with an odd face, a growl coming from his chest.

"It was just a thought." She suddenly said, her voice defensive.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself, then." Edward snapped, and Rosalie glowered.

"Obviously that is not as easy as you'd think!" Rosalie's fists were clenched. Apparently, I had missed something very important in those seconds between Rosalie's silence and Edward's arrival.

"I think," Edward said each word carefully. "It's time for you to go back inside, Rosalie."

"You've over-reacting." Her voice was barely a whisper; I was surprised I could hear it at all. "You know me better than to think I would have gone through it with it."

"I'm not taking any chances." Edward told her tonelessly, tightening his grip on me. I had no idea what he was going on about, but I just wanted to get him alone to ask what I had missed.

Rosalie gave me one last fleeting glance and she was gone, back through the door. It didn't take me long to turn on Edward.

"What was that?!" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips, demanding an explanation. My anger at him for the party was distant, off in another place. I hated when he used his power to know things I did not.

Edward's tone was bleak. "Rosalie thought just for a moment that, maybe, she ought to scare you away. Just far away to not come back—she wouldn't have done anything that would have mattered much. But I just…." He shook his head. I still felt like there was more to this story, as if he was spending his whole time trying to choose his words.

"Don't make me go back to that party," I groaned, pushing myself into him once again.

He smiled, leaning down and kissing my hair. "So, you want to sneak off?" he grinned, pulling up my hand and kissing my wrist delicately.

"Yes, please." I said, closing my eyes. I was so tired, and I still had so many questions, but the most important of which needed to be going to sleep.

"I suppose we've put you through enough torture for tonight." He pulled me up and held me tight to his chest, walking me commonly to the window, and then jumped up and through it at is this was nothing. I hardly noticed anything after that, though I was a little aware of him putting me under the covers and tucking me in, then settling himself up against me. "Goodnight, my little bride." He joked, kissing my temple.

I sighed, trying not to think too much about Edward's favorite new pet name.


	2. Chapter 2

When I woke up the next day, it took me a moment to get my thoughts in order

When I woke up the next day, it took me a moment to get my thoughts in order. I stretched and turned, feeling Edward lying next to me; however, he did not move as I did. When I sat up to look at him, his eyelids were shut and a peaceful smile sat still as stone on his lips. I guessed he was thinking and made to say something to help him realize I was awake, but before I even got the first word out he was putting a finger to my lips, eyes still closed, and whispering, "Shhh. I'm dreaming."

Now, if it wasn't for the fact that Edward was a vampire and therefore couldn't sleep, I still wouldn't believe this, because he was very much awake, awake enough to tell me that he was dreaming. I rolled my eyes and pushed myself back into my covers, deciding that we could talk whenever he was done "dreaming". However, I was only lying there in the quiet for a few minutes before he was wrapping his arm around my waist and whispering in my ear, "I have a surprise planned for you."

The problem was, because Edward had given me the moment to think to myself, the memories of the night before were flying back to me and I was enraged for more than one reason. I turned to him quickly, and he was smiling my favorite smile, but I just couldn't get past what I needed to talk to him about.

"What were you going on about with Rosalie?" I saved the angrier question for last, hoping I could blindside him with the more interesting part first. "Why were you listening to her?"

Edward sighed, his eyes looking very sad for just a moment. He was obviously hoping he could distract me away from this. He looked down at my hand, intertwined my fingers with his, and then began talking.

"Alice... yesterday while we were doing things for the wedding, she had a vision of you stumbling around in the woods." He shook his head. "I can only guess that you didn't want to be there, because she said you were crying, and I just can't figure out why you would…" he sighed. "I just thought for a second Rosalie was going to… send you out, try to teach you some kind of lesson. It didn't make sense, and she was right. I was over-reacting. But Alice said that you looked so scared. You know I can't have that, Bella."

I stared at his hands as he ran his thumb around my palm in slow circles. I was trying to figure out if this information was of any importance. Of course Rosalie wanted to try to teach me a lesson, and in some sick way, I understood she was trying to do what was best for me. But Alice saw me stumbling around in the woods? And I was crying? Why on Earth would I be doing that?

Finally, I realized that this would be the best time to do what I needed to do. Looking out the window, I asked calmly, "Is Charlie here?"

Edward's eyebrows went up, confused by the question. "No." he told me, shaking his head as he did so. "He went fishing. He left a note on the kitchen table."

"Right, then." I took in a deep breath, pulled my hand away from him, and sat upright. "How DARE you sick a bridal shower on me, Edward Cullen!"

He had to have known this was coming; he was making the face you would make at a funeral as I continued.

"You know better than anyone that I absolutely did not want to do anything like that. I'm already giving Alice her wedding, but a BRIDAL SHOWER? You could have at least warned me! I was so exhausted, and then you sick all those old women on me to wish me many thanks and stare at the ring and—ugh!" I put a pillow over my face and screamed.

"Do I get any credit for stealing you before you had to stand in there all night?" his voice was warm. He obviously thought this was funny.

"No." my voice was hard. He wouldn't win this one.

He pulled the pillow away from my face and kissed my hair. His voice was like velvet. "I just want you to have everything you should have, and I very much expected Renee to be there, and it was going to be a surprise! Of course, she couldn't make it, which will make the wedding all the more interesting, but honestly, next time, I'll warn you." He played with a lock of my hair as he spoke, and my anger was dwindling. It wasn't fair, what he could easily do to me. "Now, did you hear what I said about a surprise?"

I made a face, and made sure to make my tone as sarcastic as possible. "What, are we going to go downstairs and find all those girls in there waiting to buy me lacy underwear?"

"Hmm," he grinned, pulling me toward him. "I would like that."

And then I couldn't think much about how angry I was, because his face was touching mine, and his lips were pushed to me, and his hands were in my hair. I wasn't thinking, and I knew within seconds he would push me away, but his lips parted and I let my tongue run across, tracing those gorgeous lips of his. To my surprise, he didn't push me back, instead rolling over so I was on top of him, and I was surely going to faint if he didn't stop me soon enough—

And then his lips were gone, and my head was on his chest. I didn't even know how I got there, but I pouted, unhappy with my new spot. "I liked it better up there." I grumbled at him, and he laughed.

"Save it for the wedding night, will you?" he asked, trailing his fingers down the tops of my arms and sending electric chills through me.

"So," I said, needing anything for a distraction. "What did you say about a surprise?"

"We," Edward replied, and I could hear the excitement in his voice. "Are going on a date!"

I laughed. Obviously I had heard him wrong. Edward and I did not go on dates. We stayed inside, watched old movies, listened to music, went to his house and played chess—but we never did anything that constituted a normal kid's date. Angela and Ben were always going to movies, going out to nice restaurants, going to carnivals. But Edward and I? "You're kidding. A date?"

Edward's face fell. "You're marrying me, and you won't go on a _date_ with me?"

I tried not to visibly wilt at the word "marrying", instead trying to help him understand this humor in the situation. "We never go on dates." I told him, and in my mind, this explained everything.

"Well, exactly!" he still looked quite sad, and he obviously wasn't getting it. "I thought it would be fun. We could go somewhere nice for dinner; I could even buy you flowers! And then I could kiss you on your doorstep. You know, I never really swooned you properly."

"Oh, you swooned me just fine." I told him positively. Sure, I had never been "swooned" before, but I was sure Edward had me exactly where he wanted me. "Who needs silly human things like dates?!"

"You need silly human things like dates!" he demanded, putting his hands on both sides of my face and looking into my eyes. "You're human, Bella—and before you start, you are. I don't care how long you will be, you're like a ticking time bomb, and I won't let you miss a thing because of me. So I will take you on a date tonight, and I will pick you up at eight sharp. "

* * *

I didn't worry about Alice's vision of me stumbling around the woods for the rest of the day. I busied myself with other things, assuming that Alice had only had the vision because Rosalie had decided to "scare me". Oddly enough, that didn't scare me at all. I was just excited that soon, it would be over, and the decision would be made. Rosalie wouldn't be able to fight me over it then. The only thing standing in the way of what I wanted so badly was the wedding—I shivered to think _wedding_— and that wasn't too far away now. I no longer wanted to run out the door screaming, I just wanted to get it over with, no matter how much I hated it.

The rest of the day I cleaned the house after Alice's little get together last night. Apparently, Edward had taken me upstairs about 20 minutes before everyone was going to leave, anyway, and therefore hadn't been doing me much of a favor. It was silly to think he'd let me miss any of the important parts, so adamant was he about making me have all my "human experiences", even the ones I really didn't want. Alice had been nice enough to cover for me, telling everyone I wasn't feeling well and had retired early. Apparently she had driven my truck over, since it was now outside in front of the house. Maybe, if I had told Edward I wanted to drive my car, we would have been late and everyone would have left. I knew that wishful thinking was kind of silly, but it was just too easy to displace all my anger onto Edward. I knew that he didn't like to leave me alone in my house for long, but if he was getting his date, he had to spend the day away—that was part of it, wasn't it, picking me up? I didn't much like the idea myself, but he wanted to stick to his plan, and I needed to do some cleaning anyway. By the time eight o'clock came around, Charlie still wasn't home from fishing, and I was worried. I'd have to talk to him when I got back from my date.

Edward showed up just on time, as promised. To try to make things look a little better, I had dressed in one of the dresses Alice had bought me. It was a little short and blue—Edward's favorite color. It was strapless and hideously too revealing, going to nothing but my knees, but if Edward was going to force me to go on a date, I would tease him with how nice I looked. Of course, I didn't look very nice at all, and my efforts had been fruitless, but I was too proud to change now. As I was staring at myself in the mirror, trying to make myself believe he would mentally smack himself for all this, I heard him arrive. He was trying his best to be cute, knocking on my door calmly.

I pulled open the door and smiled my best smile. Why not play along with his game? "Well hello, Edward." I said, leaning against the doorframe. "I would say you should come in and meet my father, but as it turns out, he's gone fishing." I grabbed my purse off of the kitchen table and walked out the door, closing it and locking it behind me.

"Oh, Bella." He murmured, looking me up and down. "You look… stunning. More than stunning." He reached out to me, ready to pull me up against him, but if I was going on a "date", he was going to have to suffer. I knew this wouldn't work all night, and I would have to avert his eyes every time I pulled this trick, but I would ride the wave until it was gone.

"Now, now, Edward." I said innocently, my voice low. "Do I look like the kind of girl who would kiss on the first date?"

He shook his head, glaring at me. "You are a dirty little cheat." He whispered, more to himself than anything. At that moment, he took my hand and walked me to his car, opening the door for me. Once I was securely seated, he closed the door and walked to his side, sliding into his seat. Gripping the wheel, he turned the ignition and started to back out.

"It's not fair, you wearing something like that and then telling me I can't kiss you. How long until I can kiss you?" He sounded like he was very much losing his self control, and even though I knew he would gain it back in a few seconds, I was glad to see I was winning in a game for once.

"Bring me back to my house, and you can kiss me. But you take me on this date and you'll have to wait." I nodded, triumphant, feeling the high of beating him at his own game.

Edward nodded. "Alright then, Bella." He turned to me, his eyes smoldering. "If that's how you like it."

We drove in silence for quite a while, Edward once again going at dangerous speeds, and I knew Edward was calculating his next attack in his head. Whatever it was, I was sure it would get me. I couldn't believe my first plan had worked so well.

Edward pulled up into a nice looking French restaurant, and I suddenly realized we were not in Forks any more. He was out of his seat in a flash, holding the door open for me. I took his hand as he pulled me out and inside. The maitre'd did not seem to mind when Edward slipped him a large sum of money for a nice table.

He pulled my chair out for me, always the gentleman. Sitting opposite me, he reached out for my hand, his thumb trailing little lines across mine. "You do look very nice tonight." he reminded me, as if he couldn't say it enough. "Do you wear that color blue to tease me, or is it just a coincidence?"

"Mostly just to tease you, tonight." I admitted, feeling quite smug for my plan. "I wasn't sure if it would work, but if you're going to make me go on a date, well, I'm going to make you wish we were just home alone."

Edward sighed, closing his eyes for just a second. "I always wish we were home alone."

I smiled, and thought that maybe, tonight wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

It was storming on the way home. This made Edward even more frustrated, since I smelled much nicer in the rain, my hair clinging to the last bits of shampoo as if I were in the shower again. The smell wafted through the car, and Edward's pedal couldn't hit the floor fast enough. I knew that soon, I'd pay for how much I was teasing him, but for now, I just couldn't get over how well my plan had worked. Every day I learned to gain a little more confidence.

We were at my house in no time, and Edward was by my side of the car in a flash. He picked me up and carried me to my doorstep, putting me down promptly.

"There," he said, his eyes flashing. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" the rain was pouring down nearby, and I knew that he would have his moment now, and I would be just as grumpy as I had been this morning when he had rejected me.

"No," I admitted, deciding it would be best to be honest. "It wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. You're very romantic when you need to be, Edward Cullen."

Edward pulled me closer to him, smiling that brilliant smile, ready to get exactly what he had wanted all night. Something crossed his eyes suddenly, and he looked worried. "Oh, no." he mouthed, and my eyes were wide with confusion. Something was going on.

Just then I could see headlights, turning fast into our driveway. Charlie was running through the rain. I stepped back, ready to let him in, but he stood at the doorway.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Bella." He was saying, a sadness deep in his eyes. "We just can't find Jake anywhere. I'm so sorry."

"Find…. Jake?" his name still burned a hole I couldn't replace. It felt like I was swallowing nothing but saltwater down my throat.

"He's gone, Bells." Charlie said, and my mouth dropped, I couldn't understand. "He's gone and… well, we just don't know."

Edward's hands found mine, and he was whispering in my ear, but I couldn't hear it. It sounded something like "calm down", but I didn't know why he was telling me to calm down. It must have gotten cold, because now I was shaking.

"Oh, Bella." I heard Edward say, but his voice was distant, and all I could feel was my legs go out from under me. When I should have hit the floor, he caught me, Charlie still standing in the rain.

Jacob Black was gone, and they couldn't find him. What on Earth had he done?

* * *

I think the idea of this chapter was that Edward's still trying to make sure Bella isn't missing anything out of her human life because of him. I really liked the idea of Bella sort of taking a stand, no matter how she didn't believe it would work. Of course, I had to ruin the fun, because sooner or later Bella had to find out that Jacob was missing. Next chapter, Bella will find out that Jacob ran away, and of course, being Bella, she will struggle with what exactly she's going to do about that. Meanwhile, Edward will be trying to make sure she is continuing to be as normal as possible, Alice will be making wedding plans, Rosalie will be brooding, and soon, Renee is coming into the picture. Reviews are appreciated, even though this chapter is really kind of boring. Thanks guys!


	3. Chapter 3

I very distinctly realized that I was over-reacting. I knew in my head that I was just freaking out and making Edward and Charlie afraid I would fall apart at the seams, which might be why Edward was holding his arms around me like I'd fall apart if he let go. It was just stress, stress over everything, the wedding, everything after the wedding… that must have been what was making this information worse. I needed to pull it together before they were talking me to the hospital. Though I didn't want to, I pushed myself out of Edward's arms and fell down onto the couch. I put a hand to my head and counted to 100. Neither Edward nor Charlie spoke, as if doing so would just cause me to burst into tears. I wasn't sure if they were right or not. Once I got to 100, I counted to 50 for good measure. Then, finally, I tried to push myself into the most dignified position I could muster. I then remembered I was in a dress—I had almost forgotten about my "date" before.

"Okay." I said finally, and both Edward and Charlie seemed startled that I had spoken. Charlie was drenched from rain. "Tell me what you're talking about, Jake's gone." Saying it out loud made me flinch, but I had to be strong. There would be time to fall apart later.

Charlie looked like he wanted to sit down but thought better of it because of how wet he was. He opted for pacing the small room, Edward watching him patiently. I could see the worry in his eyes.

"Jake… they think he ran away, Bells." Charlie's eyes drifted and Edward tensed—Charlie was thinking something he didn't want me to know.

I closed my eyes, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. "How long?"

Charlie seemed to think this one over in his head before he answered. "A while." He concluded finally, looking at me for my reaction.

A while. Of course. So Jake had run away. I needed to get all the information out of Charlie that I could, and then I could go upstairs and sort it out—if I could breathe by then.

"Tell me everything." I demanded. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Edward twitch just slightly—what was I missing?

"We don't know much," Charlie spoke like I had opened a floodgate, like he was scared if he didn't get the words out he wouldn't have time. "He's been gone for a while, Bells. We've searched the forest… everywhere. Billy wasn't worried for a while, but now he seems to be thinking something's wrong. They think he's gone somewhere. Billy asked me not to tell you. I guess he didn't want to get you worried." Charlie looked at me like I might explode. "I didn't think it was fair to hold something like that back from you any more. We're doing everything we can."

I stood up, and though I felt a little woozy, I knew I just had to make it upstairs. "I'll be in my room." I sent a fleeting glance at Edward, just for a second, and I hoped he understood that I needed him to follow me. "Please, Charlie. Just give me a while."

I trudged up the steps and faintly realized I was still in my dress. I grabbed some pajamas, went in the bathroom, changed, and brushed my teeth. I ran my hands through my hair and stared in the mirror, taking a deep breath. I was trying my best not to let this effect me. So Jake was gone. Maybe that was a good thing? We needed a while apart. It had just started earlier than I expected, and the thought of never talking to him again was something I would just have to get used to. When I got to my room, Edward was waiting. First things were first.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I closed the door behind me, trying to keep my voice set, but it cracked. He got up from his spot on the bed and shook his head, reaching out for me.

"I didn't know. I promise you." The look in his eyes made me realize that he was telling the truth. He wrapped his arms around me and I pushed my face into his chest, trying to collect my thoughts. I had to be strong. Not just for me, but for Edward. He was always having to make me feel better, to pick up my pieces. Not tonight.

But I was confused. "How could you not know?" I pulled back from him, wondering if maybe he was losing his ability to read everyone's thoughts… the idea scared me, like he was losing his most important ammunition.

"Charlie never thought about it while he was here—I can only assume that he was so worried about letting something slip to you that he kept his mind off of it himself."

That explanation made sense, because I could see Charlie being afraid he might let something out that he didn't mean to. I sat down on the bed and put my head in my hands.

"Charlie didn't tell me everything." It wasn't a question.

"No," Edward was beside of me, but he didn't touch me. He looked anxious. "Bella, I'm sorry. I'm worried it might have been me."

"You?" I stared up at him, confused. What on Earth could he have done to make Jacob run away?

Edward sighed. "I wasn't supposed to, but I sent him a wedding invitation. I wanted to make things better between you two—I knew how much you were hurting, Bella, and I do owe him a lot for keeping you together." He paused, staring out the window. "I think it might have had an opposite effect. I'll understand if you want me to leave, if you're angry."

Before he had even finished the sentence I was grabbing his arm. "I need you here." I knew I wouldn't be sleeping much that night, but I wouldn't cry. I would do my best to make sure he didn't have to go through that for another night.

For the rest of the night, I curled up against Edward while he stroked my hair and told me stories about our future. Finally, when I wasn't feeling so tense and like if I didn't hold on tight I might just break into pieces, I closed my eyes and, as Edward hummed me my lullaby, I fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Edward didn't seem to want to leave me alone. Vaguely, I knew he was worried that any time alone might send me into mass hysteria. Charlie left early in the morning to go to Billy's, even though he promised Billy had no worries—Charlie was a little worried that Billy seemed so calm about the whole thing. He didn't bother to make sure I was okay, and I was almost positive he was doing this on my behalf. He didn't want to press and make things harder.

Edward decided it would be best to take me to his house, but I could see the hardness in his eyes—he needed to go hunting. I promised, he could go for the afternoon, and that night I'd go to his house and tell Charlie I was sleeping over with Alice. Edward seemed incredibly reluctant, but I wasn't budging on this one. I realized I wasn't used to getting my way when I had to bicker with Edward for nearly an hour over it. Finally he agreed, but only, he said, if I stayed in the house. That seemed like a simple enough request, and I did my best to find things to do while he was gone.

I realized that I was making Edward leave not only to make him feel better, but so I could test myself. I needed to learn to live with the fact that Jake was gone, and I had very much so driven him away. In my head, I had to be strong. My body wanted to run outside, get in my car, drive down to La Push, and beg everyone that had ever seen Jake to find him and tell him I was sorry and that he couldn't leave everything he knew because of me.

The day was almost over when I heard it. I was in the kitchen meticulously scrubbing in the sink at spots that probably weren't there any more when it filled my ears. It was howling. A deep, loud, rumbling howl. The only thing that could come from a werewolf. I pulled off my rubber gloves without thinking and pulled open the door. I couldn't just not follow the sound… I didn't even bother closing the door behind me, and before I knew what I was doing I was in the woods, and I heard the howling again, and without knowing what I was doing, I screamed his name. It wasn't Jacob, which I could tell. But he had to be somewhere… and I couldn't just sit in the house when it was so close. I stood stock still, frozen, staring into the forest, praying that my Jacob would come out of nowhere to make me feel better and to tell me it was okay.

I could hear a rustling in the trees, and I couldn't move. Distantly, I knew that Edward was going to be mad when he got home. I had promised I wouldn't leave. But it was too late now, as a werewolf was staring me dead in the face.

It wasn't Jacob, and it wasn't one I recognized for sure. But it still calmed me, knowing somewhere, somehow, they would be able to see into his thoughts and find him. I took a step closer, and the werewolf instinctively took a step back.

"Please," I whispered, taking another step forward. "I can't do anything about this, but please, make sure he's okay."

I heard the deep growling in the wolf's chest, and I tensed. The trance that had taken me here had broken, and I suddenly realized just how vulnerable I was. I took a step back, and the wolf took a step forward.

"I know you're angry with me," I was saying, whispering, and for once I was fearful. I realized how foolish I was, I didn't even know who I was talking to. "I know this is my fault. But I did the best I could do." I slowly backed away, but the werewolf growled deeper, staring at me. I could make a run for it, but it as just too far away—I didn't know if I could make it, and what would be the point in trying?

"What did I tell you?!" the voice roared behind me, livid, and though I should have been scared, I was so excited to hear Edward's voice. He was in front of me in half a second, and the werewolf growled, teeth bared.

"Leah," Edward's recognition of who it was didn't make things any easier. So Leah was mad. Of course she was, the boys had always liked me, and I had always hoped they'd understood. But Leah—who knew what Leah was doing? "I don't want to have to hurt you. Bella isn't a part of this any more." His voice was hard, and I knew the look he must have been giving her. It sent shivers down my spine.

Leah growled, staring at him with a look in her eyes I had seen in Jacob before. Of course, Leah was always trying to prove herself, and what else would prove it besides fighting Edward Cullen?

"Edward," my voice didn't sound right, and I was surprised when it came out of me. "We need to go."

"Oh," Edward's tone was cold, though his eyes never left Leah. "You wander into the forest, decide to have a conversation with a werewolf, and you expect me to just take you home?"

"Yes." I said finally. I felt bad for lying to him in the first place, but I couldn't believe… I couldn't just ignore it; it had been like the call was hypnotizing me.

We were home in less than a minute, and he didn't stop carrying me until we were into my room. He unceremoniously put me on the bed and stared at me, still with that look in his eye.

"Bella," he said finally, his voice hard. "You promised. I wouldn't have gone if I'd known you'd be out wandering off into the forest! Really, I'm going to stop telling you what Alice sees if you're just going to go purposefully fulfill it—"

I knew Edward was mad, and that had to be the only reason he had lost his usual charming demeanor, but I had to defend myself. "I didn't mean to." I cut him off, staring at him, trying to make him understand. "I didn't know what I was doing. It was a snap decision—and I didn't fulfill anything! I wasn't crying. You said I was crying."

That little bit of information seemed to surprise Edward. "I guess you're right." He paused, and I could see he was gaining back his control. "But that doesn't change the fact that you promised. I can't go out hunting for one day without you going into the forest with a werewolf. Not only that, you decide to hold a conversation with said werewolf!" His fists were clenched. I stood up, reaching out for him. I curled myself against him, but he didn't move.

"I won't do it again." I promised, and I meant it. I hated to see him mad just because I couldn't let go.

"I shouldn't have left you alone so soon after," he said, shaking his head. He put his arms around me and put his chin on the top of my head. "I won't make that mistake again." He seemed deep in thought for a minute, and I was content with just being in his arms, but he finally broke the silence. "What I don't understand it why they were so close to your house. I couldn't tell what Leah was doing, since she seemed to be quite angry with you and that was all she could think about… and well, I was quite angry with you, myself, so I couldn't pay much attention, but I'm sure she hadn't been intent on coming out to get you. Maybe she thought….?" I realized then that though he was talking to me, he was more or less just thinking to himself, and didn't expect me to say anything at all.

"Charlie will be home soon. They haven't heard anything." He broke free of me and sighed, kissing me on the head softly. "You can't do this to me any more, Bella. You will be the death of me."

"Just a few more days," I told him, and I realized that you could take that to be negative or positive. "Just a few more days." I promised.

* * *

Of course, Bella has to go and get herself into a little bit of trouble, but I'm trying to take it step by step and not rush into things. I think that, in this chapter, I wanted to show that Bella's really trying to let Jake go, but she doesn't know if she can. Internally, she's struggling with it, and of course, when she thinks that she might just hear him, she has to go running. Edward, being Edward, sort of saw it coming, but reluctantly agreed to let her spend a day alone, trying to make her happy. I plan on making this last quite a while, so I can't promise that all the chapters will be incredibly interesting, and sometimes only little bits and pieces will make sense, but I'm hoping I can get it to all come together in the end. According to the date I set in the beginning, it's August 3rd, which means Bella has ten days until her wedding. How much trouble can Bella get into in ten days? We'll see! I really appreciate reviews, and the more reviews I get the more likely I am to write more. Of course, I'll try to stick by what I've been doing, and write every night, but I'm sure sooner or later I'll lose the luck I've been having and actually have homework for a night. Oh, and, I'm sad to say, the reason that my pen name and story name are the same is because I'm hideously uncreative, and well, that's what you get. Next chapter will be more about wedding things, Bella will spend the day at the Cullen's house, and Esme and Carlisle might be getting an unexpected visitor. Thanks guys, I really appreciate your feedback!


	4. Chapter 4

this chapter obviously came slower than i wanted it to, since i planned on updating daily. however, i would appreciate any reviews i can get, guys, and thanks for reading! it always excites me when i wake up in the morning to find more people have put my story on alert or left a review. this is my first twilight fic and while i still plan on taking things slow, i'm glad you guys are here with me! :)

* * *

The next morning, the first thing I realized was that I was starving. The second thing I realized was that I probably looked disgusting, and it felt like days since I had had a shower. But I didn't want a shower; I wanted a nice, long bath. A nice long hot bath. I decided to get up and do just that, and as soon as I moved, I realized Edward's arms were around me. I also realized I was due at the Cullen's home today to work more on—_sigh_—wedding plans. There were still tedious things to look over, and while that sounded incredibly dull, it had to be done, and Alice had to get my input on every little thing. I curled up into Edward and kissed his neck.

"What time is it?" I asked him, whispering in his ear. I could feel his face breaking into a smile.

"It's about eight, love." He told me, looking down at me. "You're up earlier than I expected. Alice isn't expecting you for a few hours."

"Mmm," I closed my eyes for a minute. "That's perfect. I need a few hours to myself anyway."

One of Edward's perfect eyebrows went up. "A few hours to yourself?" he asked, his eyes lighting up from confusion.

"I feel disgusting." I told him, and he laughed quietly at that.

"You're far from disgusting, Bella." He murmured, kissing my hair.

"Well, I feel disgusting, and I think I'm going to take a nice, hot bath. So, you can go home and tell Alice—"

His face was hard. "Do you recall what happened last time I left you? We're not taking any chances for a few days."

"Really, Edward," I said dryly, "I think Charlie would get a little angry if we decided to take a bath together—"

He cut me off again. "You're very funny, Bella. No," he stretched out on my bed and closed his eyes, smiling contentedly. "I think I'll just stay right here."

I rolled my eyes and began to slip out of the bed. Before I could go anywhere he pulled me back, holding me against him for a second, playing with a piece of my hair. "You don't have to just leave so unceremoniously, you know." After a while he let got of me, and though I momentarily wanted to crawl back into his arms, I went into the bathroom instead.

I let the hot water run into the tub and paced the bathroom, thinking. Of course, Edward hadn't fought Leah the night before because it would have been an uneven match. Leah was new—Edward probably didn't want to hurt her—he didn't even want to fight Jacob, and look how big he was! He didn't seem mad at me any more, and that was good. Maybe he understood that I had snapped out of my reverie, and I was learning to face the truth. When the tub was full I turned off the water, undressed, and stepped inside.

Immediately, I could feel my nerves calming themselves. The hot water seemed to smooth muscles I hadn't even realized I was tensing. I had a lot of stress on me in the past few days, and I was sure it had been taking a toll on everyone around me as well. Today I would calm down. Today I would get things straight and make things better. Even in my little shelter, I still couldn't think of the wedding positively—but I would get better about that, hopefully. I felt like I drifted into a dreamlike state, my mind drifting off into different places, until I finally felt completely calm. Once I was out of the tub, I put on some old clothes I had brought into the bathroom, and went to find Edward lying on my bed, just as he used to be.

"Your hair smells nice." He said calmly, reaching his arms out for me. I walked toward him instinctively, ready to take my spot back until we had to leave, but Edward suddenly sat up and tensed.

The doorbell rang.

"If I asked you to stay upstairs, you wouldn't do it, would you?" Edward asked calmly, already reaching for the doorknob.

"You know I wouldn't." I replied, right behind him.

Edward, of course, was the first one to get to the door. I didn't know who to expect, though Edward's features were hard—it was obviously not someone he wanted to be face to face with. My heart flitted momentarily, but I couldn't get my hopes up.

However, it was completely unexpected when Sam Uley was standing at my door, looking as if he were tensed for battle himself.

"Sam." Edward said softly, looking as if he was trying his best to be polite. I knew this had to be awkward, Sam very much so disliked the Cullens.

"Hello, Edward." Sam replied, easily keeping his calm. They exchanged a look for a moment. Edward pulled his hand away from the door slowly, and then turned to me.

"Bella," the look in his eyes was hard to define, but I was sure it was not a happy one. "Sam would like to speak with you."

I turned to Sam, who did not seem too happy about Edward's abilities at the moment. He had a slight scowl on his face. "Yeah, of course." I told him, leading him into the living room. Instinctively, Edward wrapped his arm around my waist before we sat down; holding me as close to me as I thought was possible without me sitting on his lap. Sam sat opposite us in the chair.

Sam looked as if he was trying to be diplomatic, sitting up straight, speaking calmly, enunciating every word. "The way Leah acted yesterday is not something I condone. I would have sent her here to explain this herself— but I feel at the present time that would not be the best idea." I heard Edward laugh, but he tried to keep it quiet. Sam tried to ignore this and continued. "She was angry, and not with you particularly, Bella, but with the whole situation." He paused, surveying my reaction. My face was calm. "As you may or may not know, and I'm assuming you do, we have not heard from Jacob. It seems that as soon as he realizes we are within our other forms, he phases out so we can't hear his thoughts and figure out where he is. It's very tricky, and we've been trying to find him by searching the forests instead. However, it doesn't seem to have been working." Sam leaned forward suddenly, and Edward's arm tightened around my waist. "Do you have any idea where he could be?"

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. I knew this was the first test that I would actually pass. It had to be. "I have no idea." I told him, shaking my head, and I realized my hair was still wet. "Jake and I haven't talked in a long time—I assumed we weren't talking because he was sick of me…" I looked out the window, wondering where in the world he could be. No matter what, I just wanted him to be happy.

Sam nodded, standing up. "I thought so, but it's best to try everything we can right now." He looked at me fleetingly before his face brightened slightly, for the first time since his appearance he looked hopeful. "He'll come back. Bella. I think he just needs time."

And with that, he was gone. As soon as he was, I turned to Edward, who still seemed interested in the little joke he had found in Sam's head.

"What's so funny?" I demanded of his amused expression.

"Two things," he told me, playing with my fingers while he spoke. "One, Sam was less than happy to see me here, though I don't know what he expected. Second, Sam was much too polite about Leah. He seemed to be very irritated with her, but he didn't want to show weakness with his pack." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Intriguing. Very intriguing."

Though I didn't feel as comfortable as I had after my soak, I still felt kind of okay. Better than I would have yesterday if Sam were to give me this kind of information. Edward seemed to be able to tell that I was okay, because he didn't ask once. However, he sat me on his lap, turned me around so I was facing him, and stared into my eyes for a long time.

"You do smell so nice when you get out of the bathtub." He whispered, his voice like velvet, sounding like he was singing a song. He picked up a piece of my hair and smelled the shampoo. "You know, I'll need to thank this shampoo company." He teased, suddenly picking me up and carrying me up the steps. He stopped off in the bathroom, putting me down on my feet and handing me the hair drier. "I don't want anyone else getting to smell you." He joked as I reached out to turn it on. "We have to leave soon, Alice is expecting us."

* * *

After being able to handle the time with Sam, I was sure I'd be able to handle anything Alice and company could throw at me. Of course, I was more than likely under-estimating Alice. Once we got there, the whole family seemed to be sitting in the living room doing different things. As soon as we got there, they all snapped to attention. Out of nowhere, Alice appeared with a clipboard in her hand. She was smiling widely, looking much too excited. I groaned and reflexively shrank into Edward's side. Edward laughed.

"Calm down, Bella." Emmett told me from his position on the couch. "I tried to talk Alice out of all that fish and chicken nonsense and to go with a couple live grizzly bears in the back of the reception, but she just wouldn't understand the beauty of the idea." He shook his head in mock disappointment. This was obviously supposed to make me feel better, and my face twitched in a sort of halfway-smile, but I was still worried about what Alice had planned.

"Well," Alice said, suddenly flipping through pieces of paper. "All the dresses are here, and the tuxes are all in and looking very nice, might I add. I'm glad I picked them out, no one else would have found such nice ones." She tutted to herself, appreciating her skills in finding nice tuxedos. "I've already made everyone try on their dresses, and of course everything fits perfectly!" she smiled, and I watched as she put a gigantic checkmark on one page, turning to another. "Oh, Bella." She said suddenly, turning toward me. "You really should wear your ring all the time now, people are beginning to wonder." She cracked a smile, obviously thinking she was funny in her own little joke. I didn't bother questioning her. The ring was currently on my finger, and I spun it around once without thinking about it. I had been trying my best to wear it every day, but it was hard. I liked having it on, because Edward liked it on, but soon I'd be wearing it for eternity. What was so wrong about wanting a little time off beforehand?

Edward pulled me to the couch and sat me on his lap. Esme was sitting beside of us, and she smiled and reached over, taking my hand.

"Thank you so much for this, Bella," she said suddenly, and I was surprised. "This is making Alice so happy—and I couldn't be more excited for you and Edward. I already think of you as one of my daughters, you know." She learned over and kissed me on top of the head. My cheeks burned.

"You know," Emmett said thoughtfully, on Edward's other side. "I do kind of think of you as my sister, even though you're still all spongy." He laughed, a big, booming laugh, and Rosalie, who was standing on the opposite side of the room, arms crossed, rolled her eyes. She didn't seem to want to get close to me since our last altercation, but just then, it was the least of my worries. I had forever-- literally-- to make things up with her.

Sitting in that room with Edward's family, I felt more comfortable than I had in a while. Just then, Alice was pushing some papers into my lap, and I looked down to see different names scribbled into little boxes, with smaller boxes beside of it.

"These are the seating arrangements!" she told me happily, doing a little twirl. She was honestly so excited, I thought that on the wedding day she might burst into confetti. That might have been the end of the reception, I thought to myself, grinning. She was prattling on before I could continue this thought, though. "I think that I've made sure everyone is with people they like, and all the important people will be close enough to you. We're making them place cards!" she stared at me, obviously expecting me to be enticed by this news. "I thought about releasing doves, but honestly, doves seem like such bad taste these days." She was already off, thinking about something else, making more plans.

I turned to Esme, who smiled. "Alice gets excited easily," she whispered in my ear, and Emmett, on the other side of the couch had obviously heard her, because he went into a roar of laughter again. "She's more than excited, I don't know how she does it!" he shook his head. "Me, I'm not too enthralled with standing around in one of those itchy tuxes and then picking at some nasty human food for a few hours. No offense, you two." He shrugged, obviously not really thinking either of us had taken offense.

"So, where's the honeymoon?" Carlisle was standing up, leaning against a wall. Before he spoke, he had looked quite thoughtful.

"It's a surprise!" Alice said suddenly, with a wide, toothy grin. I thought she'd never get off this high. "I've got it all planned out, but they can't know, because obviously that will ruin it."

I rolled my eyes. I didn't really care _where _the honeymoon was, more like _when _the honeymoon was. And how long it would take to get there, get the door open, and get onto that bed. Jasper suddenly snorted and raised an eyebrow, though I couldn't tell if it was at me or Edward. Damn him for being able to read my emotions.

Alice suddenly stopped flitting around the room, her face becoming distant for just a moment. "Your mother's coming tomorrow!" I thought she would literally jump for joy. "She was supposed to come later, but I suppose she wanted to surprise you—oops." She said lamely. I thought that maybe the excitement had been too much for her to bear alone. "But that means we can start rehearsals much earlier, of course, and then maybe you'll be able to walk in the heels a lot better, Bella, we all know how much you fall."

Jasper and Emmett both laughed at that, and I glowered. "Heels?" I said finally. All of this I could deal with, but heels? That was asking too much.

"You'll be fine." Edward promised, whispering in my ear. Before then, he seemed to have absently been listening to the conversations flow, rubbing his fingers along my thigh, tracing it in little circles. "I won't let you fall."

"You'll be up in the front." I reminded him, not about to let this one drop.

"Well, I'll just come pick you up so quickly that no one will notice that you even fell, I'll make Emmett burp loudly so everyone paid attention to that just in case, and then I'll be back in my spot in half a second." He shrugged.

Alice stuck her tongue out at him. "You will not ruin my beautiful ceremony that way!" she demanded, and Emmett cracked a smile. Though I was in a room full of vampires, and I was discussing something that would soon turn out to be awful, I felt very much so at home.


	5. Chapter 5

You'd never believe how surprised I was when I went to check the bulk mail on my yahoo and found that about six more people had alerted my story and I didn't even know it! I absolutely adore it when you guys do that, and I love it even more when you send reviews, though my heart starts racing while I click on it because I'm positive someone's going to tell me they hate it. Either way, thanks for keeping up guys, and I promise, it's going to get interesting soon!

Also, I've been throwing around the idea that, if and when I have Jake come back, he would have imprinted on someone. I'm not sure how I feel about this, because it feels so cliche, but of course I'd have it be someone interesting. There's a flaw in the plan as to who it could be, seeing as all the females I can stand are taken. ( I'm talkin' to you, Angela. ) Anyway, I'm not sure how I feel about it, and none of my plans have made anything solid yet, so thoughts on the topic would be amazing! Thanks guys.

* * *

The next morning, I was to go out to the airport to pick up Renee. I didn't think she wanted to see the house, and I tried to make sure she was not made to do so. Things between her and Charlie had to have been awkward enough. Edward and I were going to pick her up, and since Edward seemed wary about all three of us getting inside of it at the same time, joking that the thing might fall apart on the way, I agreed that we would leave the truck and could take the Volvo— as long as I could drive. There was no way my mother wouldn't notice if Edward slipped and drove much faster than the designated speed limit.

When I had told Charlie that Mom was coming, he had smiled politely, said something along the lines of, 'That's nice...' and then changed the subject. He hadn't talked to me much at all in quite a while, and I had wondered what was going on. When the silence became deafening, and for once it worried me, I asked him what on Earth was going on in his head. He told me he had a lot on his plate, and within the next few days, before the wedding, he would get things settled down. I hoped that meant we could talk, because I already missed having him around, and I wasn't even gone yet. This whole thing would be harder than I thought.

I was sure to have my ring on when we went to pick up Renee. She'd want to gush over it continuously, this much I knew. She had called this morning and told me Phil would be arriving later, but she wanted to come in for wedding rehearsals. When I had told her about my engagement, she had oddly seemed calm, as calm as my mother ever was. I sensed that she had been suspecting it, and she had simply just been waiting for the day that I would call. Renee was very good at guessing these kinds of things. She would be staying in a hotel alone for a few days until Charlie got there, and after her frantic whining I had promised to spend the first night in the hotel with her to make sure she felt safe. Of course, this meant Edward couldn't sneak in, but I could deal with that for one night. I wanted to talk to my Mom—I missed her terribly.

While waiting for the plane to get there, I was incredibly nervous. Edward seemed a little on edge, himself, though he was trying his best to hide it. He seemed very human at the moment, already afraid of his mother-in-law. He had met her already, but I could understand, of course, things were suddenly going to become so much more official. We were all becoming one big, crazy family. After we picked up Renee, the plan was to let her get settled in the hotel and then take her out for coffee with Carlisle and Esme. We had first discussed the idea of dinner, but I didn't want all the people who couldn't eat human food to have to fake it for such a long period of time. Pretending to sip on hot coffee seemed to be a lot easier.

Renee's flight had made it, and it was time to go out and find her in the crowds of people coming around. I knew she would probably find us first, being the frantic woman she was, she'd probably want to ask me where the bathroom was, and oh, she needed to get to a gift shop, she forgot something terribly important. But I was wrong. Edward seemed to spot her first, and he tugged on my hand, pulling me toward her.

As soon as we were close, he kissed me on the forehead and then let go of my hand just in time for Renee to come running at me, wrapping me up in a hug.

"Oh, Bella!" she exclaimed, looking absolutely breathless. "You look so beautiful, my Bella, my Bella." She shook her head, kissing me on both cheeks. "Well, let me see the ring!" she demanded, grabbing my hand before I could answer her. I saw her jaw drop as her eyes flashed momentarily.

"It was handed down to him, his birthmother's." I explained, and she didn't seem to hear me too well. We had already told her that Edward was adopted, and she had accepted the theory easily. There was nothing fishy about adoption, so that was easy enough.

"My little girl," she whispered suddenly, shaking her head once again. "Oh, Bella, you're getting married!"

Edward was standing beside me suddenly, and I realized he had been holding back to give us some time alone. However, he seemed to realize that sooner or later he needed to come over, and I could see the worry in his eyes. If I could guess, I would think he was scared that Renee wouldn't like him. However, I knew better. In my heart, I knew that Renee would love him because she would understand how good he was for me, no matter what had happened before. I could always depend on her for that.

Renee finally turned her head from the ring and toward Edward. "And this is my son-in-law!" she said fondly, and without even thinking about it, she was wrapping him up in a hug. "Edward," her eyebrows scrunched up as she looked into his eyes. "You're _freezing_! Are you okay?"

Edward's eyes flashed for a second, and I raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that we were going to have to be a lot more guarded with Renee than we were with Charlie. Mom always seemed to notice little things, which made it easier to piece things together. However, he put on his crooked smile and looked down at her. "I'm a little nervous." He admitted, and if he could blush, I was sure he'd do it.

Renee stared at him for a second, and then she looked at me. "Well, Bella, what did you tell him?" she asked finally. "Because honestly, you and I both know I am the last thing you need to be worried about. Now, about this ring…"

I couldn't have been more relieved. Edward still sort of showed a distance, like he was afraid something would set Renee off, but I think that since Mom seemed to have seen this coming since my trip to Florida, she had well prepared herself to be strong about it. She could tell I was happy, and that was all she had ever asked of me. I knew she'd stand behind me on this, even if Charlie was shying away from me like I was a leper.

* * *

We were at a nice little hotel right outside of Forks. As soon as we had gotten out of the airport, Renee obviously had something to say about the car, and Edward beamed at his little pride and joy as if it were a child. I had expected nothing less. I reminded all of them that I would be the one driving and slipped into the front. Politely, Edward let my Mom sit in the front with me and he sat in the back. I suspected that he was doing this for other reasons, as well—he couldn't snatch up the wheel and demand I go faster if he was in the back. Well, he could, but he would have more reason not to.

The hotel was cute enough, and it was very big, which somehow made my mother feel more comfortable than something tiny and more welcoming. Renee threw all her suitcases on to the bed, got a key to the hotel room, and, after I demanded she get a key for me, as well, since she'd definitely lose it, I got back into the front seat to drive to the coffee shop.

Esme and Carlisle were already there, of course, looking as gorgeous as ever. They stood in front of the shop waiting for us, and as I got out of the car, I saw Renee's jaw drop out of the corner of my eye—even after years of being around them, I understood her surprise. As we walked toward them, she linked arms with me and whispered, "There's something wrong with this family. Are you sure Edward's adopted? They're all so _beautiful._"

I could see Carlisle's smile twitch for just a second. Of course, he had heard what my mother had said, and from the look in his eyes, it had amused him greatly. He took a few steps toward her and then reached out his hand for her to shake.

"It's so nice to finally meet you." He told her, his voice warm, and I knew Renee couldn't find a fault in this. I also knew that her eyes would be waiting for some kind of problem that she could jump on and demand an answer to. I knew her better than she knew herself, and so I knew that right then she was waiting for something to go wrong—she thought there was something I'd been hiding. Of course, she was right, but I could never tell her that part.

Renee walked into the café with Carlisle and Esme, chatting cheerfully about different things. Out of nowhere, Edward had his arm around my waist and he pulled me up against him.

"Your mother quite enjoys my parents." He whispered in my ear, and then for a moment he kissed right under it, sending shivers down my spine. "However, she is trying to find a fault in me at this very minute, so I'm going to have to watch myself." He laughed, pulled me away from him, and looked into my eyes. The smell of him was making me woozy. "So, I have to be sure to keep from doing this in front of her."

And he was kissing me, one hand in my hair, the other on my back, pushing me closer toward him, pressing me against his cold stone body. I was, as usual, completely excited at the chance to be this close to him, and I was probably more enthusiastic than I was allowed to be with him. I heard a growl, but it wasn't like the ones he gave when he was trying to protect me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Are you going to do this to me until the moment we're married?!" he demanded of me in a whisper, and my smile grew a little wider.

"Sorry." I said plainly, though we both knew I wasn't sorry. I was still a little woozy from the kiss.

He sighed, shaking his head at me. His breathing was uneven. I was proud of that. "Renee's wondering where you are. She probably thinks we're doing exactly what we're doing right now. Come on." He grabbed my hand and started to pull me through the door, when, because I was still woozy, I turned around and nearly walked into the wall. I didn't hit my face, but I managed to stub my toe against the side of it.

"Oh, damn damn damn!" I moaned, reaching over and grabbing my tennis shoe. Only I would try to walk through a brick wall. I looked over at Edward, and he was grinning. Obviously, he thought this was funny. I scowled at him, and he put on a full-on smile.

"This is not funny!" I reminded him, starting toward the door. As soon as I put my foot down pain shot through it—of course. I started to kind of waddle through, but Edward expertly picked me up, carrying me as if I were a child. Before anyone could ask what had happened, he pulled out a chair with one hand, still cradling me, and plopped me down inside it. I glared at him, and he laughed, looking around at our parents.

"She walked into a wall." He explained, and they all seemed to accept that without question.

"I could have walked!" I demanded, and Edward rolled his eyes.

"She was waddling like she was drunk." He told them, and my mother looked especially humored by this.

"Bella never was too… smooth with her safety." She gushed, suddenly excited to tell stories about my childhood. "Once, we were at the beach on the dock and—"

"No, Mom!" I said loudly, my face turning a brilliant shade of red. Edward reached for my hand, squeezed it, and tried to hide his smile. Great. So the rest of the evening they could all just trade stories about how awkward I was.

* * *

Renee and I were cuddled up in her bed, talking. She had seemed to enjoy the evening a lot more than I had expected, but she was always good at looking happy. She had the laugh lines to prove that much. Maybe she was just always happy, though I had a hard time understanding that.

"Edward's parents are very nice…" she said distantly, and I knew that this must have been leading into something else that she wanted to say. I nodded, waiting for the rest. "And Edward, he seems to care about you very, very much." She turned, staring at the ceiling for a moment, as if she was trying to get her words together. "Bella, I never expected you to find the person you wanted to be with forever so quickly." She sighed, and I wondered if she realized how long forever really meant to me. "You know how things worked out for your father and me. I'm not going to tell you that I'm disappointed, because I'm not." She turned to look at me finally, pleading in her eyes. "I just want to know that you're positive that this is what you want. I mean, I couldn't find anyone more perfect for you. The way he always seemed to move around you…" she laughed suddenly, and my eyebrows went together, confused. "He walked you into that café today and he just thought it was adorable, the little things you do, I could tell. Even if you don't appreciate yourself all the time, I can just tell he does. It radiates out of him." She reached up and brushed a hair out of my eye. "I'm glad he's here. I'm not as worried about you as I used to be, Bella. But please, tell me that this is what you want forever. I wasn't so sure when I went and got married to… well, you know. But I want you to be sure."

"Mom," I said, knowing I needed to pause so that she wouldn't think I was lying. Of course, if I did, she'd be able to tell. There was no need to worry about if I was going to fool her this time, though. If there was one thing I was sure of, it was this. "As long as I am on this Earth, I will love Edward Cullen." I could feel the blush growing in my cheeks. "I know that sounds so mushy and lame, but it's true. And you know me better than to think I'd rush into anything. This is what I want."

"That's all I ask, Bella." She told me, kissing me on the forehead.

* * *

I left Renee's hotel room early, telling her I had some wedding preparations I needed to make, when really, I missed Edward terribly. Leaving the hotel, Edward's Volvo was sitting in the parking lot, already on. He was waiting for me. I smiled and made sure I watched where I was going so I didn't fall on my face and hit the asphalt.

I got into the car, and before I could even close the door he had his arms around me. "I didn't like not having you there beside me." He told me, shaking his head, kissing my hair, then my forehead, then my cheek, going down to my throat. I didn't know why he was so excited to see me—surely one night without me wouldn't do this to him.

"I am never going to have to worry about this again when you're my wife. You will never leave my side, it makes me crazy!" His eyes were liquid and warm, I knew he had spent the night without me hunting, but I couldn't understand why he had missed me so much. We had spent nights away from each other before—then again, it HAD been a while.

"We're spending all day together. Just us, Bella. We can go where ever you want, anywhere in the continental U.S." even though he was still kissing different parts of me, I could hear the joke in his voice. I had a hard time concentrating, "We can't go home, because everyone's there, and I want to be _alone,_ but anything else you want, you got it."

Of course, my decision was to spend the day in the spot I always loved to go to with him, the spot I had first seen him dazzle in the sunlight.

He drove quickly, parked his car, and then was pulling me out of the car and onto his back within seconds. We were running through the forest, and I could feel his excitement radiating off of him. I didn't know what had gotten into him, but I liked it. We were in our meadow in a flash, and I couldn't keep track of what was going on. I was on the ground, and he was lying overtop of me, kissing my throat, then my chin, then my lips… he lingered at my lips for a while, and everything was blurry inside my mind, I couldn't form thoughts.

He was off me just as quickly as he had been on, and he was lying beside me, twining his fingers with mine and kissing my fingers. My breathing was uneven, but out of nowhere, I could hear the click in my head.

"You were worried about me." I said suddenly, my voice becoming quiet.

"Of course." He told me, sounding breathless and confused at the same time.

"That's why you're so excited to see me." I pressed, and Edward laughed.

"I'm always excited to see you!" he told me, putting our hands on the ground, still holding mine.

I let that one sit in my mind for a while, thinking it over. I was glad I was going to get to spend the day with him. "Edward?" I said finally, and he turned to look at me, looking relieved I had said something. He had probably been lying there, agitated over the fact that he still couldn't hear my thoughts. "Do you like my mother?" my voice was mousy and quiet—I squeaked while I talked. I was so afraid something would go wrong.

Edward smiled my favorite smile. "Of course I do. And Carlisle and Esme really enjoyed her—they're tempted to keep you from turning, just so they can keep her around."

I knew he was joking, but I suddenly realized the time was creeping up on me. It still wasn't turning I was afraid of—it was the wedding. Deep in my heart I knew it wouldn't go as perfectly as Alice expected, even if she could see the future. And another part of my heart still beat oddly, like it didn't match the rest, like it fit for someone else. I knew who that someone else was, and no matter how much I tried to believe that everything would be okay, the thought of him just wouldn't let me.

"We're going to be one very happy family." Edward murmured, pulling me on top of him and holding me tight to him. He closed his eyes, content. I was more grateful than I had been in quite a while that he couldn't hear inside of my head.


	6. Chapter 6

Oh my gosh, you guys! I can't believe all the people that alerted my story / put it on their favorites! Sheesh! I was about to cry with happiness this morning, I tell ya. I really would appreciate some reviews, though, since I still don't know what to do about the Jacob situation. I've got a plan forming in my mind, but it still feels kind of iffy and cliché, so give me feedback on what you guys think I should do! I really appreciate the reviews and whatnot I am getting, it just makes me want to update more!

By the way, I'm very exhausted but excited for this chapter, and I'm not sure if I can stay up another minute to edit it and check for spelling/typing errors. If there are any, please overlook them. I promise I'll be good and check it next time.

* * *

Of course, things were just too easy this way. We didn't get to spend the whole day alone in our meadow, because Edward's phone was suddenly vibrating in his pocket. He grumbled unhappily, not interested in anything that wasn't me, it seemed, but answered his phone anyway. "Mmm?" he said pointedly, obviously not worried about being calm and reserved as he usually was. He paused for a moment, his eyebrows going together. "Well, I'm sorry, Alice but there's nothing—"he paused again, looked down at me, and shook his head. "No, no I don't think she did." He sighed loudly, exasperated. "Talk them out of it then, Alice." He said slowly, carefully. I couldn't keep up with what was going on. "Call them, explain to them that you are about to have a heart attack—and how hard it is to cause that, since your heart no longer beats." He smiled a little, and then rolled his eyes. "Of course, Alice. I'll ask." He hung up the phone and looked at me, slightly confused, slightly amused.

"What's going on?" I asked, and I didn't seem too panicked—he didn't have that crazed look he would tend to get when Alice's visions were bad.

Edward laughed quietly before he explained. "It seems one of your werewolf friends has decided to come to the wedding. Alice, of course, isn't too happy, as now she can't see how anything will go. I told her to call and talk them out of coming, but we didn't invite any of them, and I don't think you did, either, did you?" I shook my head 'no'. He nodded, turning and curling closer to me, making sure there was no space between us. "Well, then, that's settled, isn't it?" He laughed again, putting his nose in my hair and whispering in my ear, "Werewolves are crashing our wedding party."

* * *

It seemed our newfound guests had made everything for Alice even more chaotic—now that she couldn't predict how things would go, she simply had to make guesswork, which Alice had become terrible at. She said every word, dripping with distaste for her inability to be certain. She even tried to work around it, thinking about things that didn't directly involve any werewolves, but nothing worked. All she could see was pitch black. She didn't like that one bit. Jasper, however, seemed to be getting a kick out of it, and kept sending her waves of calm to make her feel better. Alice would immediately feel better, and then, when Jasper was gone to go do something, she'd be even angrier that he could use his powers and she could not.

"What I _do_ know," she began to explain to me when we got back to the house, scowling about the whole thing. I had just gotten off the phone with Renee, making sure she was okay—she had spent the day out shopping, and she had decided to buy me more housewarming gifts than were really needed—neither of us would be needing a toaster soon. "Is that a couple more people RSVP'd today. This girl in our graduating class, Melanie Patrick? She's coming. She was out on some kind of weird hiking expedition. Just got her invitation today. Mike has finally decided to go, and he had every intention of trailing Jessica with him, probably for one last attempt to make you jealous. Other than that…" she threw up her arms in surrender.

Of course, Alice had invited everyone in the graduating class. That, I didn't care much about. It seemed kind of fitting, having them all there. They could get their final goodbyes; take out the whole town in one swoop. It felt like the whole town WOULD be there.

Alice's frustrations only amused Edward further. Jasper, meanwhile, obviously thought the whole thing was funny, but tried to console Alice anyway. When she got particularly angry, he'd wrap his arms around her waist and press his lips to her ear, whispering things I couldn't hear. Edward seemed kind enough to busy himself with other things when this happened, and Alice always seemed to relax a little—however, I felt like it wasn't because of Jasper's 'powers'. I knew that just as Edward could calm me down, Jasper could calm Alice down. I wondered why I had never thought about it much before, how perfect they were for each other. It surprised me, the little things like that that I had never noticed about my soon-to-be-family. I was always wrapped up in other things, wrapped up in Edward…

Soon, I would have an eternity to notice these things, so I was okay with the fact that my awkward human brain had been fumbling with Edward much too much to care about anything else beforehand. Soon, I wouldn't have to care about that any more. No one seemed too worried about our werewolf guests, given the fact that I was friends with them, and we all suspected nothing was going to happen. Of course, that's what I thought everyone suspected. Edward was much too good with hiding his emotions.

It seemed that Alice absolutely had to torture me somehow every day that she made plans for the wedding. After she demanded that I go in Edward's room and take a nap, and I had obliged happily, spending the time to spend the day with him like I had wanted to, she bounded into the room around eight, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Come on, then!" she said, doing a little twirl like she had when she had seen me in the dress. "Everyone's waiting for you!"

* * *

Only Alice would feel the need to torture me this painfully. Only Alice would feel the need to move everything out of her living room, leaving nothing but the floor and a boom box on the ground, which had her favorite classical music CD inside of it. Only Alice would pair up all the couples, put us in different spots on the floor, and expect us to dance. To ballroom dance.

I had kind of seen this coming—there was no way Alice would ever let me out of this without dancing. We had to dance at the reception, and everyone would be staring. She told me that she was trying to save me. Of course, as soon as I had seen everyone standing around awkwardly, except for Emmett, who was spinning Rosalie around while she smiled brilliantly, I bolted to get back to Edward's room. I didn't make it in time, and Alice was holding me back.

"Oh, come on!" she whined at me, making the most pathetic face I had ever seen. This wasn't fair. This whole family tortured me with these damn faces. One day, they'd all pay for being so angelic. Emmett and Rosalie were still dancing, not paying a bit of attention to any of us, having their own fun. Jasper looked amused. Esme and Carlisle stood holding hands, waiting patiently. They all knew I would give in.

So, here I was. Of course, we were the couple getting married, so Edward and I were stuck dead in the center. Edward didn't seem to have a problem with any of this—of course he didn't, he was a brilliant dancer! He was a brilliant everything. Nothing seemed to faze him any more. He ran his hands through my hair, staring into my eyes, probably thinking about something else. He was smiling the whole time, though my eyebrows were scrunched up. The last thing I wanted was for that music to turn on.

However, it did so anyway, just as I had expected. I groaned as everyone around me moved in a beautiful fashion—they knew exactly what they were doing. Alice was belting out orders to everyone in between humming in tune with the song. I knew good and well these orders were more to me-- but I didn't have time to pay attention to the things she was telling me about my feet. Just like at prom, Edward had scooped me right up before I could fall, and he was dancing me around. I was weightless, and he was grinning down at me, dancing to the music, humming along. As long as my feet didn't have to hit the ground, maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as I thought. I could let him carry me anywhere this way and be happy about it.

The look in his eyes the entire time was insane—I still couldn't figure out what had gotten into him; what could have caused him to seem to have a frenzied look in his eyes every time he was near me. I wondered if maybe he realized how close forever really seemed to be now, and he was excited, too. We were both close enough to grasp it in our fingers.

* * *

Emmett stared into the mirror and adjusted his tie, grunting to himself as he did so. Rosalie stood behind him, critiquing his appearance for her approval. Of course he didn't like being in a tux—Emmett didn't like being in anything he couldn't rip off in a moment's notice, it seemed.

Rosalie reached up and touched his shoulder. He turned to face her, his expression sour.

"You look handsome." She told him, playing with his cuffs.

"_Handsome_ does not equal_ sexy._" He explained to her sadly, and Carlisle, who had just come downstairs from trying on his own tux, laughed and ruffled his son's hair.

"You look just fine." He told him, examining himself in the mirror casually as he spoke. "Who do you have to impress, anyway? I'm sure we're all very aware of just how _sexy _you feel, Emmett."

Jasper laughed, coming down to stand beside Carlisle, looking in the mirror. "I think we look pretty sexy, personally."

All the boys had been attacked by Alice that morning to try on their tuxedos to make sure everything was fitting nicely. It was August 7th—less than a week until the wedding. She said she would have absolutely no time to fix it if they just didn't do it _right that instant. _Grudgingly, they had agreed. Emmett was obviously not too excited with his final product, but I doubted he would have been happy with any tuxedo. Edward had yet to arrive, still upstairs for some reason or another. I didn't know if I wanted him to come down, it was scary to think of just how Edward would look in a tuxedo.

"Oh, that is not even fair!" Emmett growled, staring up at something I couldn't see. "He gets to look like THAT, and I get to look like this?!"

"Well, he's the one getting married, you know." Alice was standing beside him out of nowhere, clipboard in hand. "He's the important part of the ceremony—well, the important man, anyway."

"Yes," Edward said from behind me. "I think Bella's the one we should be most worried about."

I turned around to see him, and just as Emmett had made me suspect, he looked gorgeous. His tuxedo was different than everyone else's; it looked more expensive, made with a different flare—probably made by an entirely different designer, knowing Alice. She couldn't do anything halfway.

"Oh," I said lamely, staring at him as a blush crept up my cheeks. "I will never compare to _that._" I muttered, and Edward laughed silently.

"You are in a whole different league of _that._" He told me, kissing my nose.

* * *

On the way home from trying on tuxedos, Edward became distinctly quiet. His eyes scrunched up in concentration like he was doing a very hard math problem in his head. It confused me, but I decided I would bombard him with questions once he parked the car, just in case I was going to break his train of thought and lead him away from some kind of epiphany. However, before we made it there, he began to speak.

"Your father has decided to speak with you today." He told me finally, not looking very relieved. "He misses you. He wants to hear about your life, the wedding things—" he looked out the window. "He's accepted out marriage. "

I couldn't read Edward's expression correctly, because he looked sad. "Don't look too excited about that or anything." I muttered, and he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. We were at my house by then, and he leaned over, holding my face in both of his hands and staring into my eyes for a long minute.

"I'll be up there waiting on you, alright?" he reminded me, leaning in and kissing me softly, like he was afraid he would break me. I just couldn't keep up with him any more. First he's crazy to see me, then he's acting like I'm going to fall apart.

He pulled away and I got out of the car, the smell of him all I could think about for the moment. When I walked into the kitchen, I found Charlie there, rummaging through the fridge.

"Oh…" he stopped what he was doing, his arm falling limply to his side. "Hey, Bells." He closed the door and walked over, hugging me to him. "I was going to make you dinner as a surprise…"

"You know you don't have to do that." I reminded him, muffled into his jacket until he pulled away, looking at me for a long minute. I was glad I had gotten there when I did. Charlie's cooking was never a good thing. However, I realized that he was trying to be sweet, and I could appreciate that. Instead of making things awkward, he sat down in his usual spot at the table and I sat in front of him, waiting.

"I'm sorry that I've been so distant." He told me, and I could see the color in his cheeks rising. He was looking down at the floor. "I'm just so…" he looked up at me, shaking his head. "I don't always trust him, Bells." He told me, trying to keep his voice calm, low. "I don't trust him to stay with you for the rest of your life like you seem to think he will. I worry a lot. You wouldn't believe how much I think about what happened to you before and think, what if? But, no matter how much I kick and scream and beg, I know this is going to happen anyway." He played with his fingers for a while. "I know you love him, and I know he loves you. I just hope that's enough for you to be happy. That's what I want, Bells."

"Don't worry, Dad." I told him. I wanted to do something comforting—reach out and hold his hand—but that seemed so hokey. I kept to myself instead. "This is what I want, and I would never rush into anything I wasn't sure of. I'm sure that he won't leave me. You don't know how much it hurts him… Once, to get back at him, Jake told him everything that had happened while he was gone—you should have seen the look on his face. I know he wouldn't put me through that again."

"Ah." Charlie said suddenly, and his eyes were distant, cloudy. "Jake."

So this was what Edward had seemed so concentrated about. Something had happened to Jacob.

"They've heard from him." Charlie grunted finally, and a wave of relief washed over me—I had expected that they had found him dead. "Not much, but enough to know he's alive. He still won't come home, it seems. Billy told me he was out doing nature kind of things—you know, camping and all that. Getting in touch with that side of his life. I guess he just needs time to think." He was looking at me again, and he seemed like he wished there was food in front of him, something to distract him from the look in my eyes.

"I'm proud of you for trying, Bella, I really am. I can tell that it was hard for you. I can't say I'm happy with who you chose," he cracked a smile, the first one all evening. "But I know that you tried to make the best decision for everyone. Jake just got caught in crossfire. I'm excited for your wedding, Bells." He leaned back in his seat, and his face was still blood red—I knew he didn't like talking about his feelings like this. "You're growing up and you're leaving me, but I know I did the best I could. I look at you and I know that I must have done something right."

He stood up suddenly, looking at the floor once again. "That's why I trust your judgment. You're a good kid, with a good head on your shoulders. But listen," he grabbed my hand and pulled me up from my seat, staring into my eyes intently. "No matter what ever happens to you, you got me, okay?" he paused, like he was trying to make sure it sank in. "I'm always here. I'll do whatever I can for you." He wrapped me up in a hug and sighed, putting his chin on the top of my head. "I love you, Bells. You're my baby girl."

And with that, he was on his way up to his room, obviously too embarrassed with what he had just done to look me in the eye.

* * *

Of course, Edward was waiting on me, and of course, he had heard everything. I felt emotionally spent, like if anyone else put anything into me I would burst. I didn't know what to make of the information about Jake. I felt completely relieved, knowing he was okay, but something was still nagging at me. Charlie seemed like he had told me everything he knew, but he still acted afraid.

I was probably just worrying myself, as usual.

Edward waited until I showered, changed, and brushed my teeth. Then, he pulled me into bed and ran his hands through my hair, kissing beside of my ear every once in a while, just little things that made me feel the distress I had been feeling washing out and a sense of happiness filling me. Edward was like my own personal Jasper, and just his presence seemed to bring the wave of calm that I needed.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay guys, we have a bit of a dilemma. I'm kind of dumb when it comes to how this site works, and I fell upon my hits today, and I had more then 2,000! It was insane! However, I still only have 16 reviews, and you know how much I love those. That's not our actual dilemma, that's really pretty nice. The problem is, I need someone who is sort of like a beta reader—except I wouldn't be sending you chapters for you to fix errors and whatnot. What I need is someone I can message, on AIM preferably, from anywhere between 4 PM-1 AM on weekdays, and any time at random on weekends. I'm very insane and meticulous, and I will constantly be messaging you to throw off ideas I've been having about the story. I want someone who appreciates the story for the realism of it, and wants to remember I want to keep it as close to the book as possible without making it dreadfully boring. If anyone is up for the task of putting up with a slightly insane Twilight writer, leave me a review with an AIM sn/whatever else, and we'll get this started. I can always use more than one person to bounce ideas off of; since I'm sure no one can wrangle in my insanity. Anyway, thanks for the AMAZING reviews guys, and please keep them coming!

* * *

"_No._" My lips were in a thin, hard line. Alice stared at me, pleading in her eyes. "I don't care if I'm letting you throw the wedding, I don't care if I let you get away with the bridal shower… you will NOT do this to me!"

"It's traditionaaaal!" Alice pleaded, "And you know Edward wants you to have all your human experiences. Well, this is a human experience!" I turned to Edward, hoping for some backup in this, but he had his eyes closed and his hand over his face—he was trying his best to ignore this conversation completely.

"Edward," I stated, my tone icy. "You really want me to have a bunch of male strippers running around in fireman outfits?" I paused for just a moment. "Because you know, that's what happens at _bachelorette parties._"

Edward sighed, shooting a glare Alice's way, which she replied to by sticking her tongue out at him. "Alice has already heard my thoughts on the matter." He told her slowly, warningly, "loudly and quite clearly."

At that moment I realized that though Edward was obviously on my side, I would get no help.

"Besides, none of this matters!" Alice told me cheerfully. "I've already foreseen that you'll give in, and I've already called everyone and invited them!" she shrugged. "It'll be quite a big one, I assume." Her smile widened suddenly. "I also assume lots of them will be giving you gawdy lingerie—Edward will quite like that part later."

Before he could snatch her and probably try to hurt her, she dashed off up the steps. I turned to face him, crossing my arms. "So, you're _okay_ with men rubbing themselves all over me?"

Edward glared at me, and even though I wanted to keep my mouth shut and be good, I continued to scowl at him. "You are well aware that I do not want _anyone_ near you." He said plainly, "but I can deal with it for one night." He shrugged. "Besides. Emmett and Jasper have already decided they will be holding a bachelor party for me the night before." He smiled grimly. "We can suffer together."

The last thing I needed were a bunch of girls that were _paid_ to look beautiful flouncing around in little outfits just begging for Edward's attention. I was about to tell him just that, tell him that this whole thing was silly, when I heard a deafening roar and a clash—then I heard the sound of something breaking.

Edward's eyes were alert suddenly, and after a moment, he seemed to understand. "Ah," he said smoothly, taking my hand and starting to pull me up the steps. "It seems we have reached a snag in the plans."

I tried to stop, to make him stop pulling me—he hardly even noticed. "What's going on?"

Edward didn't stop, but he did slow down quite a bit. "It seems that Alice's vision of your party just went black—" he shrugged, trying to play it off as best he could. "This means that there is some wolf somewhere that we are not aware of. Of course, being Alice, she assumed we would continue with party plans, she isn't fazed. But Jasper—you know how Jasper is about protecting Alice. He's not so enthralled with the idea himself."

Everything clicked immediately, and I was on Jasper's side. "Of course we can't do the party! Obviously there's something going on, if a wolf plans on coming to the wedding _and _the shower—the only female wolf is Leah!"

Edward had stopped short on the steps. "Only wolf we know of, love." He reminded me, playing with my hair, trying to calm me down.

"No. no no no." I demanded, stomping my feet. Edward laughed at my temper tantrum and then tried to hide his face. I wasn't going to change my mind about this, though.

"Something's going on, Jasper's right to be angry! Something's going to come at us—of course. We're taking too much time! We need to get this over with now. You'll just have to go ahead and change—"

"You're kidding, right?!" I could hear Alice from the other room, loud and clear. "Isabella Swan, after all the work I have put into this wedding, you want to go mess it all up for a _dog?!_"

"A dog that could very well want to kill you all!" I snapped, pulling away from Edward, who had quite a look of frustration. Alice had joined us, standing at the foot of the stairs. "You obviously don't know who this is—there's something going on! This has got to be an enemy!"

"Jasper," Edward said suddenly, smoothly. "You really shouldn't have broken that vase. Esme will be unhappy."

"I'll buy her another one." Jasper said gruffly, appearing out of nowhere. He turned to me, staring into my eyes, pleading. "Bella, you have to talk her out of this." He begged. "The wedding, I can deal with. The wedding, I'll be there to watch h—you guys." Alice scowled suddenly and cut him off.

"I can take care of myself!" she glared, her nostrils flaring.

"That doesn't stop me from worrying! And they obviously want Bella—" his arms flew out toward me to prove his point. "Can you take care of yourself _and_ Bella?"

"You know," Edward said calmly, though there was an edge to his voice. "I'd appreciate if you didn't tell my fiancée someone wanted to kill her when we have no idea what's going on. You know good and well how she worries."

"How I worry?!" I demanded, rounding on him. "You act like I'm a child."

Edward grinned, running a hand across my cheek. "I don't think you're a child, I think you're much too brave for your silly little self, and if you think you can save us all you'll run off into the forest and beg a wolf to find you." I opened my mouth to speak, but he put a finger over my lips so I couldn't. "And don't say you wouldn't, you've tried stunts like that before."

"None of this matters. No one's coming after Bella, and we're having the party!" Alice spoke harshly, like nothing would change her mind.

"You will­ _not_—" Jasper started, but he never had a chance to finish.

"If all of you would come in the living room," Carlisle's calm, soothing voice filled the entire house. "We will talk this over."

* * *

I was seated on Edward's lap again, and the whole family surrounded me. Rosalie, sitting in front of Edward's piano, had a look on her face I didn't need to see, so I didn't bother looking at her. The face she was making at me was one of pure hatred, one that was permanently imprinted in my brain. She was sick of me putting her family in danger. Didn't she think I was sick of it, too?

Emmett didn't look perturbed at all, and surprisingly, neither did Esme. Carlisle showed the smallest hint of concern, always the father figure, always angry if there was something missing in his span of ideas. Jasper and Alice were holding hands, though they did not look at each other. Alice resented Jasper for wanting to protect her so badly. Edward had pulled my hair over to one side and was kissing my neck every once in a while, sniffing my hair, playing with my fingers beside of him. He seemed perfectly content, but I could feel his tenseness. Even he had to admit there was something odd about this situation—where were these wolves coming from, out of nowhere?

"This doesn't have to be something bad." Carlisle finally determined, and we all turned to him, watching, as he leaned against the wall, deep in thought. "I'm not even thinking about the temporary alliance we had, either. I think that, under the circumstances, they're not going to do anything to Bella." He turned toward me, his eyes flickering for just a second. "They could want one of us, but I don't see them acting when there are crowds of other people around. They'll stick to the treaty as best they can, I imagine. None of us want to see anyone hurt."

"So, you think they want a war?" Emmett cracked his knuckles menacingly and grinned. Rosalie let her frozen stance thaw for a moment as she rolled her eyes.

"Always so quick to fight!" Esme murmured, and I smiled grimly. I knew how much she hated that idea.

"No, Emmett. Like I said, this doesn't have to be something bad." Carlisle's voice was peaceful, trying to make sure everyone felt calm. "However, I will not pretend I'm not worried there is something to it." He looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"There could be a wolf we don't know about," Edward said behind me, taking to himself more than anyone else. "However, they would have to be from La Push, and I thought we knew of all descendants?"

"Well, it's very simple, isn't it?" Carlisle said suddenly, standing up a little straight. Everyone looked at him, ready for him to give orders, to tell what to do. "Bella," he turned toward me, and I pulled away from Edward suddenly, sitting on the cushion beside me. "How do you feel about going to La Push?"

"_NO!_" Edward growled, and I couldn't feel him beside me for just a second, he was gone in a flash, but then he was back…

"Edward, there's no need to be melodramatic." Carlisle hadn't flinched; he had obviously expected that reaction. "I merely asked Bella how she'd feel about it."

My stomach lurched, and I was glad I hadn't eaten in a few hours—it would have definitely come out at that moment. Never going back to La Push was something I had set comfort in—it was too hard, it brought back too many memories, running away from school with Jake, on his motorcycle, the one place Alice couldn't come and get me…

Edward saw the look my face and growled louder. "We're going to send her off where we can't take care of her—where none of us will know what's happening—where she is no longer SAFE?!" he paused, breathing in deeply. "Jacob Black is gone, Carlisle. The friendship is over." He murmured something so quickly and quietly that he hoped I wouldn't hear, but I did anyway. "_They hold her accountable._"

"Obviously not." Carlisle said, ignoring Edward altogether and staring at me. "I assume your home is still even grounds, Bella?"

It took me a minute to reply, but I was nodding my head. Edward was still muttering unintelligible swear words under his breath. I still felt sick… my skin was getting clammy. They held me accountable. I had already known that. Is that why they were here? Were they so angry they'd avenge Jacob by…. Killing? I couldn't believe that. We had once been close, all of us…

"Tonight," Carlisle said slowly, realizing I was about to lose it. He looked sad; I knew he hadn't meant to startle me like he did. No one had expected that I would look so worried—I knew, however, that everyone could have expected this from Edward. He still looked tense, like he was debating grabbing me and running off. Jasper stared at him, trying to send him vibes of calm, but it looked like Edward was refusing them as best he could, shaking his head, trying to keep the anger. "I need you to call Sam, Bella, and tell him you need to talk. Sam will know what's going on, and he'll be able to give commands to his pack depending." He watched me, waiting for a reaction. "Can you do that, Bella?"

"Just don't make me go back to La Push." I said finally, trying to keep my hands from shaking. The thing I wanted least on this Earth, a war between the ones I loved and the ones who had kept me together…

"Edward, take her upstairs." A distant voice murmured, and everything got cloudy. I let my head fall back against the couch and I muttered something not even I could understand, but in my head I had meant to say "I won't let any of you die for me."

* * *

"Bella, Bella." Edward was running his cool fingers over my forehead, wiping my damp hair off of my clammy skin. "Bella, please." He whispered, and I could hear his worry—I could nearly feel it. "I overreacted, Bella. I didn't mean to scare you. Carlisle didn't plan on sending you to La Push alone, but I was too stubborn to listen to him. I was just scared, Bella… they were right, I was being melodramatic." He was kissing my throat, my ears, my forehead, and I could hear his uneven breathing. "Please, wake up, love."

I opened my eyes, and right in front of my face was my personal savior, fear sketching every inch of his features. "Would you calm down, Edward?" I whispered, reaching my hands out to touch his face. He seemed to do just as I asked, though he didn't calm himself completely. "It's not your fault. You didn't scare me. I just don't want to go back to La Push. Not after…" I shook my head, swallowing hard.

"You don't have to go back." Edward soothed, holding me close to him. "Carlisle didn't mean any harm, so I hope you're not angry with him. It's just getting so close to time—and I'm so worried that something we can't handle will go wrong… I'm not about to let you out of my sight, let alone mine AND Alice's!" he shook his head. He stared at me for a minute, his eyes warm, but still fearful. He looked like he was afraid I would burst. "Carlisle called Sam and asked him to come to your house so we could talk to him. If you're not ready to—"

I rolled my eyes, starting to stand up. "We have to figure this out." I demanded, and as I started to get out of bed, he scooped me up and carried me.

"You're still a little woozy," he told me, and he was trying to hide a grin. He did, however, let me drive the truck home, which he didn't tend to do when I wasn't feeling well. Maybe he was just trying to be nice.

* * *

"None of us have made plans to go to the wedding." Sam said gruffly, and I had seen the look in his eyes as soon as I had asked. I visibly shrank; Edward held me tight beside him and as he spoke, his words were lethal.

"None of you? You're sure on this?" Edward stared at him, picking at his thoughts, I knew it.

"We had made the decision not to go. We knew that would just make it harder for your Alice to see what was going on; we were trying to be kind to her. Now that she is unable to see what is going on anyway, we are tempted."

"A werewolf is coming to that wedding." I said finally, and my voice cracked—they both looked at me as if they didn't expect me to talk again. "There's got to be something going on that you're not aware of—"

"I'm fully aware of everything going on." Sam visibly stiffened. "I gave them orders; they were not to be anywhere near you any more. And there are no other werewolves in La Push. Is it possible that your vampire's visions can be blocked by creatures other than-?"

"No." Edward said tightly. "Only werewolves." He stood up suddenly. "I believe we have reached a bit of a problem." He walked toward the door, obviously planning to show Sam out. "I'd appreciate if you'd talk to your pack, something is going wrong, and someone is not following orders." He was not as cordial as he had been before. Sam obviously noticed that.

"I think," Sam said, his voice hard, it could've cut glass. "That you do not understand just how aware of what is going on that I am." He turned to look at me for just a minute. "You think Leah wants to hurt her. She does not. We have no problems with Bella." He turned to stare at Edward. "Others, however…" he tutted softly, and I understood this to be a bit of a threat.

"STOP IT!" I demanded, as I could hear the growl coming from Edward's chest. "Don't you think that, given the circumstances, we should be working together, and not _growling at each other?_" I glowered at Edward for a moment and he seemed to relax, his face becoming calm again.

"You have to understand the problems we're having." Edward said softly, trying to be a peace-maker. "We can't figure out what's coming, obviously, and if you don't know then—"

"I'll look into it." Sam said shortly. "I'll be in touch." And with that, he was gone.

Edward was already pulling me out to the car. "Alice will make sure it's okay for you to stay with her tonight." He said shortly, painting the lie right in front of my face. "I'll be out camping, of course. Spending some time with the boys before the wedding." He put me in the car and we were driving down the road, faster than I had seen in a long time. "Carlisle will be very concerned." He muttered, holding my hand as he drove. "Very concerned, indeed."


	8. Chapter 8

I feel awful, I haven't updated in so long! But I've been so busy, and sadly, I had a tooth removed a few days ago, so I've needed a few sleepy days for some recovery. I know that I probably won't even get to post this until tomorrow, because I've got more plans tonight! Hopefully I can get a lot done today before I have to leave, I feel terrible for keeping you guys hanging for so long! If I didn't message you for help I'll probably do so soon, I just haven't had any time for anything! Thanks guys. And thank you for all the reviews!

By the way, next chapter, Edward and Bella go house shopping, a nice little visitor is included (I bet you can guess who!), and then, of course, the real wedding rehearsal! If I get enough reviews I might be able to update by tomorrow night. Of course, I'll need a little fire under my butt to get me going, so, there's your incentive. ;) And I'm extremely tired, so I'm not checking for spelling/typing errors tonight. Please overlook them, I'm pathetic.

* * *

The thought of Carlisle was not comforting for very long. During the entire ride back to Edward's I had hoped and suspected Carlisle could solve this problem; however, as soon as we saw the house, I realized he probably couldn't. He knew no more about this than we did, and though I always expected Carlisle to have the answers, there are just some things you can't figure out.

Walking into the house with Edward, I could see Alice standing very close to the doorway, her eyes wide. I knew good and well that she had been afraid something would go wrong—she didn't trust Edward's battle abilities if she could not see them in the mind of her future, this much I knew for sure. She seemed to be perfectly content as soon as her eyes flicked across both of our obviously unharmed faces.

"I suspect that—" she began, and Edward stopped her before she could finish, interrupting her.

"It is not one of Sam's." he told her plainly, and her face fell, confusion marring it. I knew that none of the Cullens were used to having this kind of problem—none of them were used to a puzzle where the pieces were just so impossible to fit together. "Sam just nearly fought me in Bella's kitchen, though." He grinned a little, and then tried to hide it. "The thoughts going through his head were not very nice at all—as usual, I was very glad Bella could not read a boy's mind." He shook his head, looking from me to Alice for just a minute. "However, he was very courteous before hand. It seems that he had decided not to go to the wedding so that you would continue to be able to see it—he will, however, be in attendance now." Edward didn't tell her anything else, though Alice raised an eyebrow, an obvious question in her eyes. Edward nodded his head just a little out of the corner of my eye, and I looked to Alice, expecting someone to explain, but they acted as if nothing had happened. Had I just imagined it?

"Carlisle's in his room." Alice said suddenly, and I realized that must have been her question. Edward began to drag me along, and as he pulled me forward, my hope continued to dwindle.

* * *

"Sam is sure that—" Carlisle began after a long, slow silence between the two of them. I guessed Edward had been reading Carlisle's thoughts the whole time, trying to put the pieces together himself.

"Sam has given them distinct orders, and you know they have to follow them. He also knows of no new wolves. He tried to hide it from me, but every once in a while his emotions would get the best of him and I would have the ability to pick at his brain at little bit." Edward sighed, leaning back. "None of them are excited about my talent, he was not willing to give out anything without knowing he was giving it—however, he hasn't practiced enough to really shut me out." He shrugged as if he didn't mind either way.

"So, this isn't anything from La Push." Carlisle sounded sad—he obviously didn't like that. Things could have been so simple that way. "Well, its simple, isn't it?" he said after another long pause, and every second felt like hours; neither of them wanted to admit they didn't know. "We're just going to have to be on our toes, so to speak."

"Yes, of course." Edward nodded, looking toward me for a moment, then back to Carlisle. "We'll have to be very careful when we leave."

"Leave?" I asked, my eyebrows up, suddenly confused.

"Bella," Edward said fondly, looking over to me and smiling. "We have to go house shopping—we can't stay here forever."

"However," Alice called from the other room suddenly, and I remembered she could probably hear our whole conversation. "We have wedding rehearsals today!"

* * *

I couldn't even remember the date. How many days was it until the wedding now? Everything just felt like a blur. Edward grabbed my hand and walked with me downstairs, he brought me into the car and was driving, humming to himself. He didn't seem at all worried about how quiet I was—I suspected he knew good and well what was going on. This seemed to happen any time anyone mentioned the wedding lately. Who was worried about the wedding now?! There was so much more to worry about, but they continued on as if this was _normal…_ I just couldn't handle it.

When we stopped, I realized we were back at Renee's massive hotel right outside of Forks. Edward smiled as I stared at him.

"Are we here to pick up Renee?" I asked, eyebrow raised, as Alice parked beside of us.

"Of course not, love." Edward stopped humming for just a moment to unbuckle me. "This is where we'll be having the wedding!" He smiled at me, his eyes brilliant. I was automatically weak in the knees.

And before I could stop myself, I was kissing him hungrily. At first he seemed confused, but he quickly complied, his lips forming to mine—hot and cold, they seemed to fit so perfectly together. The mix of my passion for him and his for me always being cut short when he pulled back for whatever reason.

"Alice is waiting at your door." He said, smiling slightly, and Alice opened the door for me, rolling her eyes.

"Could you save it for your wedding day or something? Sheesh." She stuck her tongue out as I got out of Edward's car, red in the face. "Every time I turn around I'm having visions of you two all over each other—it gets boring, you know!"

"Stop watching." Edward told her playfully, turning and winking to me. "Come on."

Edward took my hand and seemed to gently tug me toward the hotel. Of course we'd have to have it somewhere rather big; we were inviting everyone in the town, and of course everyone would be in attendance—they were expecting quite a big party. Everyone always expected that out of the Cullens, like they livened up a ghost town. Little did they know how much they really livened it up.

Edward walked me into the lobby, then down through another doorway. I found myself in a long room—it was massive, I didn't know what Alice expected to do with all of this. She, however, seemed to disagree.

"It's perfect!" she chirped happily, and out of nowhere the clipboard was in her hands again, and she was waving her hands around like a conductor, talking so quickly I could barely understand her.

"All the chairs will be through here, and then you'll walk through here, Bella, and Charlie will walk you down the aisle, of course—well, first, Phil and Esme will walk together, then Carlisle and your mother, and they'll go on their two opposite sides. I don't think Charlie will mind much, since he'll be walking you down the aisle and all, he'll get to stand up at the front, too…"

Edward wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and hummed to himself, obviously amused.

"It's- it's so _big._" I choked out finally, and Edward laughed, as did Alice.

"Well, yes, silly." Alice sang, still flipping through papers, putting things together in her mind's eye. "This is quite a big deal! The whole town will be here!"

"I'm going to walk down… all this way… in _heels_?" I demanded, and my voice was getting drier—it seemed to catch in my throat.

Alice smiled widely. "I've already predicted you'll make it just fine. Charlie will be there, I told you already!" she shook her head, thinking my human worries were just so silly. She never seemed to understand the cause for all my worry. "We're not going to have the actual rehearsal today, because no one's here, but we'll have it tomorrow. By then I'll have everything set up! I'll have Jasper do it all tonight while you're asleep." She flashed me a smile—I couldn't decide if I was grateful or not that I would be asleep.

She started out the door, and Edward turned me around, holding me close to him. "We're going out to Alaska today—we own some property there. I'm assuming you'd rather us not stay with Tanya." He pulled me out to look at me, and my face burned red. We both knew I did not enjoy the idea of even being within the vicinity of Tanya at any time.

"It's not nice to throw her in my face, you know. She's so beautiful and I'm so… me…" I muttered, but Edward was laughing.

"You're so adorable when you're jealous!" he spoke happily, as if this seriously brought him joy. I scowled. That didn't help his case at all. "As if I could ever see anyone _but_ you!"

This made me feel just the tiniest bit better, but I was beginning to forget why I was mad when he was kissing my neck, smiling into the hollow of my throat. "I hope you'll stop thinking like this when it's official and you're my _wife—_ well, I don't know if I want you to stop or not, because it really does drive me crazy."

I pulled him up for just a second to stare at him—he looked kind of sad, like I had ruined his fun. "What's going on with you lately?" I asked him, realizing suddenly that I had noticed a difference.

His eyebrows went together, obviously confused by the question. His eyes flicked to my forehead for a second—automatic reflex. He still tried to read my mind every once in a while, and I thought maybe he felt like if he looked at where it was coming from, he could unleash it. "What are you talking about?"

"You just…" I paused, unsure how to explain this. "if you're away from me for long enough, you kind of go into this frenzy… and then every time we're alone you seem so excited to spend that second to kiss me…?"

Edward's eyebrow went up. "Is that a problem?"

"NO!" I shouted. My cheeks burned, embarrassed. "I just…" my voice went down, I was quiet. "You act differently than you used to. _Needy._"

"Bella," he said after a long pause. He seemed like he had been thinking it over. "I just realized… how close it is. How close it is until you're mine. And sometimes I wonder how on Earth I can wait."

* * *

The fact that we were simply going to_ Alaska_ was insane. However, I had quickly learned that whatever seemed insane before could easily happen to me in no time. We were in the car on the way there, and I was so dulled I fell asleep. I woke up to the sound of distant voices, though I was almost positive I was still dreaming.

"I assumed you saw Bella keeping up straight before the wolves intervened?" the Edward in my dream asked, and I heard the Alice in my dream laugh quietly.

"Yes," she said, her voice kind of solemn. "But Bella didn't seem to pick up on that, and that's the important part." She paused, and then she started speaking again. "I assume no one has any new leads on—"

"Of course not." I could hear the snarl in my dream-Edward's voice. Even that way, he was scary. "We can't figure it out. Of course, whatever it is, it probably is—" I didn't move, but I could feel his gaze on me for a moment, then he turned back to Alice. "The wolves are not something we can trust now. I've ruined that because of what I've done to Jacob. Sam was very quick to attack a few days ago."

"Do you think there'll be a—" dream-Alice started, but dream-Edward seemed to be able to read minds just as well as real Edward, and he cut her off quickly.

"'War' isn't a very nice term for what I assume will happen." Dream-Edward said curtly, and I could tell he did not like whatever he was thinking. "However, I am fully aware that there will be some kind of fighting involved. After the reception of the wedding, we'll have to get out quickly. Jasper and Emmett will not be given any reason to attack—and I mean _any._ They will take whatever they can get. So you can't provoke them. And as for Bella—" dream-Edward stopped talking again, and I could feel his eyes on me for just a moment. "She's not leaving my sight for one minute. I'm not kidding on that, Alice. You can have your little fun before the wedding with her, but I do not want you to leave her anywhere alone, not even for a second. I don't trust them." He growled quite loudly.

Dream-Alice was saying something, but everything was fading… maybe I was waking up? I couldn't tell… but I seemed to fall into a different dream…

In this one, I was no longer in the car. I was up in the air, over the sky, and I was flying. I didn't know how on Earth I had gained the ability to fly, but I was over a forest—the scenery looked familiar, but I had never seen it from this point of view. And suddenly I ran out of energy, and I was falling toward the trees… I landed on the ground and looked up to see a werewolf staring me in the face, and though I knew they couldn't talk, I could hear him say, "I told you so."


	9. Chapter 9

When I awoke, we were in Alaska. Actually, I just assumed we were in Alaska, as I had no idea where we were, really. I knew Edward was shaking me, grinning a little, and I knew he was excited about the prospect at hand.

"We're not actually going _house_ shopping, I suppose." He told me fondly after I was awake and stretching. "We've bought two homes already over our time spent here, just in case we need to go a certain way. What we're really doing is going to the two and picking one or the other. I suppose we'll stay here for the night, and then tomorrow we'll have our wedding rehearsals." I was out of the car by then, and he took my hand, rubbing his thumb against my palm. "Alice is quite fond of one over the other, but I'm letting you make the choice without her telling you."

I suddenly realized something, and I stared at him for a second. "The whole family's moving in with us, aren't they?"

Edward's eyebrows went up, confused. "Well, of course they are." He paused for a second, looking at me. "Did you seriously expect me to leave Carlisle and Esme behind?" he sounded hurt—like I had offended him.

"No, of course not." It had always been obvious, but I had never thought of it.

"They'll leave a few days after the wedding to come to whatever house we pick. They're assuming we can take care of housing by ourselves, but Alice would never let us do anything without putting her thoughts in, so she came along, too. Usually I'd expect that out of Rosalie but…" he stopped, and I understood, nodding.

"Rosalie would rather not spend her day with me in Alaska?" I joked, my tone light, though it cut deep. Would she ever stop hating me?

"Don't count yourself so special!" Edward teased, grinning at me. "Alice and I are not her favorites, either."

I looked up finally to see Edward had parked in gravel in front of a house much larger than I expected. It was pathetic, but my jaw dropped. Every little girl seemed to dream of living in that big white Victorian house—and mine was staring right back at me. It was gigantic; I didn't know how on Earth it could be that big. It had red trim—the windows, the door, the tips on the roof. I felt like I was living in my little-kid daydreams; by that point, I was sure Edward really _could_ read my mind.

"How does… how does Alice feel about this one?" I got out finally.

Edward had watched me the whole time, amused. "She's quite fond of this one—if you notice, I made her stay in the car. She's trying to dig happy thoughts into your skull. I would tell you to pretend you hate it so that we could bother her but, well, we both know she would have figured it out by the time you got into the car." He shrugged. I didn't know if he was attributing this to the fact that Alice could see the future or because I was such a bad liar. "But, we can go inside!" he said, grabbing my hand and running up the steps like a kid running into a candy store.

"Why are you so happy?" I asked, as he closed the door behind us and threw his arms out wide, showing me the room.

"I liked this one best, too." He told me, and I could see the happiness in his eyes. It made my vision kind of fuzzy, but I could still hear him talking to me. "See, you were asleep throughout, but it takes quite a bit to get through here, so we should be completely alone. And there's a very nice forest surrounding us, but there's enough yard to give us something to walk around a bit in, I suppose." He paused, looking up the steps. "And I already picked our bedroom." He admitted, his voice kind of sheepish, and I realized that if he could blush, he would have been.

"So?" Alice demanded out of nowhere, flying in the door and leaving it open behind her. "Do you love it?"

I stared around the room, and though it was empty, I could easily picture where everything would go. It definitely felt like home. "I… I think I might love it." I offered finally. "I still feel like I'm dreaming."

"Speaking of dreaming!" Alice said suddenly, her eyes flickering with remembrance. But Edward shushed her, and I stared at her, confused. I hated when he did that. Alice gave me one of those looks, the one that means, 'I'll tell you later', and before I could answer her Edward scooped me up and was running me up the steps. He ran me up to the third floor, then all the way through the hallway to the door at the end. I didn't even have time to appreciate how nice the steps or the hall seemed to be—he pushed the door open and all I could see was a window.

There was no forth wall where it should have been—just a window. And it was massive, spanning out all the way from one wall to the other, ceiling to floor. It showed off a great view of the backyard and just a touch of the forest, and you could see enough of the sky to drive you crazy. It was an amazing view.

"I know we won't really have any use for it…." He said, sounding sheepish and kind of sad. "But I just really liked it, you know—they're very nice."

"Any use for the window?" I asked him, confused. How could one not use a window?

"No, Bella… the bed." He told me, and I could hear the laugh he was trying to keep down.

I finally turned and saw that right in the center of the room was a large bed—it had deep, smooth red blankets and gold bedposts. It looked very comfortable. "It's…" I shook my head, trying to think of a good word. What was going on any more? How was everything going so perfectly? "nice." I choked out finally.

"Would you like to test it?" he asked me, turning me to face him, smiling wide. Before I knew it I was lying back on the bed and he had one hand beside of me and the other on the side of my face. He was looking down at me like he could see ever inch of my thoughts, break down any barrier I had—and he probably could. He knew me so well he no longer needed the ability to read my mind.

"Comfortable?" he asked me, still running his fingertips softly across my cheek as he watched me. I realized I had been daydreaming and I snapped out of it quickly.

"Very." I told him happily, and he seemed very content with that, rolling over beside of me and pushing me farther onto the bed. "At least I'll get to use the bed tonight." I told him excitedly, and he stiffened visibly.

"What?" I asked. I couldn't understand the problem. "We can't stay here tonight?"

"Well…" Edward started lamely, and I knew I was missing something, something he really hadn't wanted to tell me. "See, the thing is, the only furniture we've moved into this room is the bed, I didn't want to risk moving anything else in case Alice's prediction changed somehow… so really, Alice has nothing to do while you're asleep, she'd be dreadfully bored… and I would send her off on her own, but honestly I don't trust her."

"Send her off where? Where are we going?" I pushed myself up, leaning on my elbows, staring down at him.

"Well, for the night, we're going to stay with the Denali."

A faint tingle seemed to fill my fingertips, my scalp, and the tips of my toes. My face went hot, and I fell back onto the couch, my mouth in a thin line, angry. I should have seen this coming. Of course he'd make me go to be near the only person that worried me most in a time like this.

_Tanya._

* * *

"I'm not excited about this, either, Bella." Alice soothed. She was sitting on the bed with me, and since Edward had given me this news I had not spoken, though I was visibly fuming. "I don't like Tanya much, either. She's shown quite a bit of distaste to you that I don't approve of—she's very jealous of your bond, you know. You could easily rub it in her face…" Obviously, she was trying to cheer me up. However, the fact that Tanya had shown her distaste for me only made the situation worse. I knew that I would not be welcome here, and the fact that Edward was going to make me go there was just making it so much worse. I was becoming so spoiled around him. Edward was standing up, watching me.

"I didn't do this on purpose, Bella." He said suddenly, and like a five-year-old, I turned away from him. I could hear the frown in his voice—he felt like I was being stubborn. "I honestly just can't trust us alone right now, I hope you understand."

"In other words," Alice said glumly, "Edward doesn't know if he'll be able to keep from taking advantage of you."

This seemed to brighten my spirits a bit, because Edward swore loudly at Alice and muttered something along the lines of "I'm not_ proud_ of feeling like a teenage boy by this point…"

"You're not serious?" I said, and though I wanted to continue to be horribly angry, my interest got the best of me.

Alice stuck her tongue out at Edward before she continued. "Edward's afraid that if I leave you two alone all night with the bed he won't be able to stop himself from seducing you, basically. He's been thinking over ways to do so in his head—I get quite disgusted from it, if you'd believe it."

"You know I'd never do anything." He looked over at me, trying to sound gruff, angry, but obviously terribly embarrassed. "However, I'm always overly-cautious, and I'm not risking anything so close to the wedding day."

It was funny how things had changed. Before this, Edward had been afraid to be alone with me because he might kill me. Now, he was afraid to be alone with me because he might just seduce me.

"Anyway, Bella," Alice said, looking over at me again, serious. "You were asleep last night, and at first you kept muttering 'Edward hurt Jacob'? I was wondering what that was about."

I scrunched up my eyebrows, trying to remember. "Oh." I said suddenly. "I heard you two talking while I was asleep, but I guess I was more awake than I thought, and Edward said he supposed Sam was so quick to fight him because of 'what he did' to Jacob. And I just couldn't figure out…" I shrugged, biting my lip.

Edward turned to Alice for just a second and she seemed to understand. She slid off of the bed and padded out of the large room without a noise.

"Don't you see, Bella?" Edward asked, taking Alice's place and curling one of my hands in two of his, pressing his forehead against mine, his breath making me tingle. "I've taken you away, haven't I? And believe me, I've felt that feeling before, and I know everyone in the pack is getting a variation of that feeling now—I would not wish that feeling on my worst enemy." He smiled for just a second, oddly amused by the fact that this was in fact his worst enemy, but it didn't touch his eyes. He wasn't happy. "What I did was awful and selfish, but I could never, never live without you. Of course, I let you make that decision-" I opened my mouth to cut him off, but he kept going. "-and I am quite happy with what you've chosen, don't misunderstand. But not everyone was as happy with it as I was. This includes Sam. Besides, Sam seems to think…" for the second time that day, I felt like Edward didn't want to tell me something. He pulled away from me, my hand still in both of his. "Sam seems to think Jacob imprinted on you, and that means he'll probably never get over this. And who am I to break something that special, hmm?" he was smiling again, making a joke out of it. I could see he saw the hurt flashing in my eyes. "However, I don't think that's the case, Bella. I know he loved you very, very much, but I don't think he imprinted. He liked you a lot before he even became a werewolf, didn't he? If anything, you were the most human part of him." He looked down at our hands, thinking. I felt like there was too much information I needed to digest. I couldn't keep anything straight any more. What was wrong with me? "But it didn't make anything any easier. I'm afraid that there might be more of a snag on the wedding day than we would suspect with usual vampire-human weddings." He shrugged. "I'm not worried, though. I know it'll still be the best day of my very, very long life." And with that, he kissed me on the head.

* * *

Edward and I decided to spend the rest of the day in bed. I told him I needed some time to put everything together, and he seemed just fine with that. He pulled me on top of him, putting my head on his chest, playing with my hair while I thought. So, Sam thought Jake had imprinted on me, and that was why he was so angry with Edward. Edward didn't see any way out of fighting with them—was that why he had been near me so much? I smiled slightly, realizing just how excited Edward _really_ was for me to be his wife. It felt like a sweet payback, since that used to be all I could think about. Well, it could be his turn while I tried to figure out what was going on.

After the wedding we would be moving into this house—we couldn't stay in Forks any longer, that much had been determined a long time ago. The house was nice enough, I knew I'd love it here, and I felt like it was meant for me. Edward liked it because it was so far away—I bet he assumed that would keep me out of trouble. Always looking out for me, it seemed. He'd probably do that for the rest of eternity.

"Bella?" Edward said softly, letting my hair fall.

"Hmm?" I asked, not bothering to open my eyes and look up at him—I was quite content where I was.

"I _can_ wait, you know." He told me softly, and I realized he had been thinking this over. "But it's just that, every time I look at you lately, it feels like you're just getting more and more beautiful every day—and I didn't even know it was possible. And the smell of you, it's been driving me crazy. You wouldn't believe." He sighed. "But I'm not some dumb teenage boy who just wants you in bed, and I can wait. But I'd rather not risk it, knowing good and well you could change your mind and regret it later…"

"Don't be silly." I told him, pulling myself up so my face was touching his, my nose on his nose. "I'll never regret anything I do with you."

I turned my head and pressed my lips to the spot right below his ear, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. "You're a little monster, Bella."

I turned to look at him, growled, and then kissed him on the nose.

* * *

The entire road toward Tanya's I was quiet. Edward held my hand in his, playing with my fingers as he drove. Alice very quietly sat in the back, staring through the windshield. I didn't know what was coming, but I dreaded it. I was fully aware of how unwelcome I was.

When Edward got there, I sighed. The house was nearly as perfect as the one we had just come from. Somehow, I had had false hope in the idea that at least my _house_ would be one-thousand times nicer than hers. However, I was wrong.

"You'll be sleeping on the couch tonight." Edward was already parked, unbuckled, and on my side to open my car door for me. "Of course, I'll be there with you, and I'll make sure you don't fall off the couch and into something to cause some traumatic injury—which you could very likely do." He grinned and I would have smacked him if it wasn't for the fact that I was fully aware that he wouldn't even feel it. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever was to come, and let Edward pull me out of the car and close the door.

It was then that I saw her standing in the yard. Tanya was more beautiful than I had ever imagined. Her eyes were big, round, and gorgeous, with eyelashes so long they swooped over and touched the bottom of her eyes. Her lips were full and a perfect pink. She was extremely pale, but somehow, she seemed to glow. She could nearly give Rosalie a run for her money. That cut me deep, but I got a smug sensation in knowing that if nothing else, at least I knew Rosalie was prettier than her.

"Tanya." Edward said politely, and suddenly I felt Alice on my side, squeezing my hand in reassurance that she was sure I needed.

"Edward, Alice," Tanya's voice was soft, light—I could tell she would have been a wonderful singer. I hated that. I hated everything about her—could I be more jealous? This was pathetic.

"Bella." She said, her eyes falling upon me, her tone like acid. She cocked her head to the side and smirked. "We've heard a lot about _you, _Bella. So nice to finally meet you."

The way she said it, I knew she didn't feel it was nice at all.


	10. Chapter 10

After a much-needed break for me to do semester exams and finish out my year, I'm ready to start writing again! I've been working on this for a while, but I just haven't had time to finish it off yet. I should be back on track now that I'm on summer break. Thanks guys!

* * *

Tanya turned to Edward and stared at him for just a moment. His eyes flickered—with what I couldn't tell—and we were walking toward the door of Tanya's home. We walked straight into the living room, where I saw the couch where I'd be sleeping. It would have looked brand new if it wasn't for the slight amount of cobwebs spinning under the legs to the floor. I knew that they probably never even used the couch, which could mean I'd be sleeping on a thick layer of dust tonight. I was always so paranoid and jumpy, like Tanya was going to turn around and pounce on me, but that was purely comical. I knew better than that. Tanya had no interest in me when it came to my blood. Really, all Tanya cared about was Edward.

"I assume Bella will be sleeping on the couch, since there are no beds here." Tanya spoke courteously, and I tried to ease up a little. Maybe I had imagined her hostility earlier. I was definitely more than paranoid. "And you, Edward—"

"I'll stay on the couch, too." Edward said happily, slipping his arm around my waist and giving me a squeeze. Tanya shrugged, indifferent. Her eyes fell to Alice and her mouth seemed to twitch for just a second—like she was going to sneer at her, but in the end, she thought better of it. She turned to me instead.

"There's not much room on the couch." She told me, not bothering to look at Edward, who was concentrating hard on every word she said. "I'm not sure if the both of you could fit on it."

"We'll make room." Edward promised smoothly, and Tanya seemed to shrink back a little. Something was going on, I could feel it. Obviously, I was the only one who wasn't in on whatever secret this was.

"If you don't mind," Tanya replied, looking up at the clock on the wall, "we're about to go out to hunt. You're more than welcome to join us if you'd like, Edward." She stared into his eyes, and though I usually would have been angry, assuming this was a romantic gesture, I knew his eyes were getting darker with each passing day.

"We'll be saving our appetites for when we get back home, Tanya. But thank you." It wasn't Edward who spoke, but Alice, and she glared at the other female vampire, fists clenched.

"That's fine." Tanya turned away, walking through the room and into the kitchen. "I assume you know where everything is. If you need anything, you know where to find us. The others are already gone." She nodded in Edward's direction, left one fleeting glance toward Alice, and then she was out the door without a sound.

I stared at Alice, confused. She sat down on the couch and, surprisingly, a cloud of dust didn't erupt on the spot. Edward stood still beside me, staring at her as Alice obviously spoke to him in his mind. Edward cracked a smile suddenly, and Alice glared.

"This isn't funny!" she demanded, and Edward tried to keep a straight face.

"Maybe you should tell me what you're talking about." I hinted rudely. "I'll decide if it's funny or not."

Alice looked at me for a moment, and then she smiled. "I assume you are aware that Tanya was being a little less than her usual well-mannered self today?"

"Well, she doesn't want me around, does she?" I reminded her, oblivious. "She wants Edward to herself."

"Yes, she does," Alice replied, staring down at the floor for a moment. "But she was willing to work past that. I must say, however, I didn't help your case, Bella." Her eyebrows were scrunched together in concentration, but I could tell she was amused, despite telling Edward it wasn't funny moments ago. "When I found out Edward's plan to bring us here, I got into contact with Tanya to smooth over some plans. She and I have never gotten along too well—her personality and mine do not work well together. So, when she mentioned something about you—well, I'm very protective of you, Bella, and I let her know right then that she wasn't going to speak about you as if you were just some normal _human_ and were lower than she was."

"You say human like it's a bad thing!" I told her, and Alice smiled, looking up at me.

"Vampires usually assume that humans are rather ignorant—because, well, most of you are. However, you're not like most teenagers, Bella, and I wanted her to know that. Needless to say, I got a bit offensive, and now she's taking it out on you."

I was still confused—why was she being rude to me, if she was really mad at Alice?

"She's trying to get under my skin, so to speak." Alice explained, reading the look on my face. "She's going to spend the whole time treating you like you're terribly dumb, just to emphasize her point, I suppose." She shook her head. "She's not excited about you having Edward, but I think she's over that. She learned long ago she would not be in Edward's company for long."

"Great." I muttered, sliding away from Edward and sitting on the couch beside Alice. "Now not only do I have vampires wanting to kill me, I have vampires wanting to remind me just how dumb I am." I blew a stray piece of hair out of my face and leaned back into the couch. "It just gets better and better."

* * *

"I'm starving." I mumbled, rubbing my stomach lamely, like somehow that would stop it from growling. Edward and I had spent the day lying around on the couch while Alice ran around Tanya's house snooping. Edward had tried to talk her out of it, even threatening to try and chase her, but it would have been useless—Alice would have known his attacks before he did them, and Edward would be trying to think quickly, changing tactics. They could go like that for hours. Edward gave up before it even started and made Alice promise not to break anything valuable or hurt anything important, and though he looked very irritable about the idea, Alice was obviously bored and in need of something to do. It seemed she was used to having a lot on her mind, since she was usually dashing around trying to prepare my wedding.

Edward laughed, getting up out of his spot beside me and walking over to his bag. Out of his bag he pulled a lunchbox, and I rolled my eyes.

"You seriously packed my lunch?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "What, am I back in Kindergarten?"

"Well, it's coming in handy, isn't it?" Edward replied smoothly, not at all interested in the fact that I was being mean. He simply smiled and tossed the bag to me—it was one of those fancy ones that either sealed in the heat or the cold, which ever it was you needed. Leave it to Edward to buy the nicest of silly human things like a lunchbox.

I pulled it open and found that Edward had packed me something very simple—a turkey sandwich and an apple. I laughed out loud. I couldn't help it, I really felt like I was back in grade school. Renee had never packed my lunch, though, so I always had to do it myself. Then I looked at him and laughed harder.

"What?" he asked, trying to act nonchalant. He stared at me for a second, and while I kept laughing, he made a face. "Bella…" he started, and I cut him off before he could say anything else.

"You made me a sandwich!" I told him, and I giggled again, but he didn't seem to find the humor in this. "You hate human food. I can't believe you took the time to put turkey, mayonnaise, lettuce, and bread together."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Bella, you're such an odd girl. That's what you think is so funny?"

"Well, yeah." I told him, but it came out with a mouthful of food, because I was already digging into my sandwich. Edward made a face like I had disgusted him, but I ignored this and continued eating. Once I was done with my sandwich, I played with the apple in my hands. I didn't really want it, but I felt weird wasting it, like I would hurt his feelings if I didn't eat it. I spun it around in my fingers, popping the stem off and throwing it across the room. I looked up at the clock and yawned—it was definitely getting late.

"Ready for bed?!" Edward asked happily. He had been excited by this prospect all day. He knew that, for both of us to fit on the couch, I'd have to lie on top of him and curl myself into him, which he seemed to think would be the perfect way to spend the evening—so much, in fact, he seemed like he really wanted me to go to bed.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the couch where he stretched out across the cushions, then pulled me over to him. I pushed my face against his cold chest and sighed. Being in Tanya's house was a lot easier with Tanya not here.

"What is today?" I asked finally, yawning. Edward ran his hands through my hair, staring down at me.

"It's August 10th." He reminded me.

"And tomorrow will be the 11th…" I concluded. "So by tomorrow, we'll be getting married in two days."

"I'm counting down the minutes." He told me. He kissed me on the forehead, and then tried to get me to go to sleep.

* * *

"Well, wake her up!" I could hear Alice before I could see her, and I was vaguely aware of the blanket covering my back. I could feel Edward under me, though he didn't seem to move. He was perfectly still.

"I'm not waking her up for your benefit." Edward whispered in a soft, soothing voice. "And stop yelling, it won't work."

"It already has!" Alice said happily. "She's awake."

As if on cue, I turned around and stretched, looking up at Alice, who was standing ready to go. All my things were packed and beside the door. Tanya was leaned against the doorway, watching the entire scene.

"Well, what do you want?" I asked Alice, trying to ignore the audience.

"We have to leave!" Alice told me quickly. "The wedding rehearsal is today, and this is our first one! The real one is tomorrow, you know, the one where we'll play the music and show off some of the tricks I have in mind—but, today's important too."

I got up and ran my hands through my hair—I was distinctly aware that I looked extra hideous today. This was probably because I was in a room full of gorgeous vampires. That would never get old.

"I assume," I heard Tanya from her place in the doorway; "my wedding invitation still stands?"

Alice turned to look at her, obviously about to speak, but Edward started before she could.

"You will understand that we cannot have any more vampires than our necessary at the wedding—as we are expecting… visitors." He explained to her, and a knowing smile fell across Tanya's face.

"Yes." She said bitterly. "Your little dog friend, Bella?"

I flinched. "Big dog friends, actually." I replied, trying to sound tough. Alice laughed.

"She's right. And we must be going." She stared at Tanya for a second, her eyes scrunched up in concentration. "Thank you for letting us stay here last night, Tanya."

"Next time you need a hideout, you know where you can find me." Tanya told them. I stared at her for a second, and her mouth twitched at the sides—she was trying to hide a smile. With that, she disappeared down the hall. My stomach turned over a little at that smile, and I turned on my heel and started out the door. I flung it open so hard that I didn't have time to step back, and the door hit me in the face.

"My nose!" I screamed, clutching at it. I felt like I was on the Brady Bunch, but I could already feel it swelling, I was sure it was broken, and soon it would start bleeding…

However, Edward seemed less than worried. "Did you really just hit yourself in the face with the door?" he demanded of me, and I groaned, still holding my nose. "That's a new one, even for you, Bella."

"It's gong to bleed. My nose is going to _bleed._" How come our roles seemed reversed by this point?

"Oh, no it's not." Alice told me, shrugging. "It's just going to be bruised, which means a little more makeup on the wedding day. We don't want anyone thinking Edward punched you in the face. Then again… I doubt anyone would be surprised to know you smashed your nose opening a door."

* * *

Once my nose stopped pulsing and I was securely in the car and getting farther and farther away from Tanya, I had time to think back on what had been bothering before. That feeling that Tanya knew something I didn't. I wasn't going to be able to deal with that.

"Tanya said something about a hideout?" I asked, watching from my passenger's spot for Edward's reaction. His hands tensed on the wheel, and then he exhaled slowly.

"Yes, well, I thought maybe you nearly breaking your nose on a door would help you forget about that." Though usually he'd be laughing at me, he seemed unhappy. He always seemed so unhappy lately. At least we wouldn't have to worry any more soon. "Alice's visions went black before we left yesterday… they stayed black until some time last night. I didn't like not knowing what was going on. I thought it best to get you out oft there. Alice didn't trust us alone, of course, so she came with us." He smiled sadly. "I needed to make sure you liked the house, anyway."

"So…" I said, trying to sound nonchalant, radiating calm like Edward and Alice always seemed to be able to do. "Do you know--?"

"Alice called them this morning. Apparently," Edward said his words slowly. He was picking carefully. "The wolves came to Carlisle to speak to him about what they think might be going on. They're worried there's another wolf. They're coming to the wedding, doing a little damage control if anything goes wrong. Nothing's _going_ to go wrong, because this day is going to be _special, _but they refuse to say no." he shrugged. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that we have rehearsals today."

Alice started humming a little song at the thought of it, and I groaned as Edward smiled and accelerated on the gas. "Try not to run into anything else for a couple days, okay?" he asked. "If you can manage it, I'd like to have you in one piece when we're married."

"Mostly just for the honeymooooon." Alice sang, and I laughed.

* * *

They didn't even give me time to stop off at home and rest. By the time we were back in Forks, Edward was driving to the hotel. I immediately felt my stomach clench—I was going to puke, right there, in Edward's car. He'd kill me. My nose still felt kind of swelled, and if I poked at it, it felt bruised, but I couldn't see it. Maybe I was just being paranoid. This growing paranoia was unusual. It seemed to happen all the time. So what? I told myself. I was talking to myself—never a good sign. So what if I was practicing for the wedding? It honestly didn't mean anything at all. It was just a rehearsal. No one would even be there.

Alice was getting out of the car when she froze, her hands clenching a little on the door. She released it just as quickly, and suddenly she was striding with fierceness. I was glad no one was around, they wouldn't have been able to understand why she was moving quite so quickly—Edward stared after her as she opened the door and her pace slowed. He sighed.

"They're here." He told me simply, unbuckling my seatbelt and opening my door for me. Before I was out he took my hand and pulled me out softly, lacing his fingers with mine and walking me toward the hotel.

"Who's here?" I asked nonchalantly. The only thing I could think of was the Volturi—they couldn't wait a few more days? I didn't understand. Maybe they'd have to go ahead and go through with it now—I tightened a little. I didn't know if I wanted it to be so sudden. Planning it had made it easier, but out of nowhere? I might have a panic attack…

"Calm down. Bella." Edward stopped, turning me to him and running his fingers through my hair. "They're here to protect you, really. This is nothing short of ignorance, because I can protect you just fine…" he growled a little, and I ignored his need to always watch over me like a hawk for just a minute.

"The Volturi are here to_ protect_ me?" I asked, aghast.

Edward smiled a little. "Not the Volturi, Bella. We have a few visitors from La Push."

We were in the lobby and starting to open the doors to the room, but I couldn't think straight. Why would they be here to protect me? Protect me from what?

"You made me stay at Tanya's." I heard Alice's voice before I saw her. Edward was cringing—if I could hear Alice so clearly, she was very obviously yelling in his ears. "You made me stay at Tanya's so that Bella would be safe and away from any of them getting near her—" she jabbed her finger at our visitors. "And now, you bring them here, Jasper?"

"I didn't bring them here." Jasper said calmly, and a wave of calm filled the entire room—Alice's body relaxed, though she looked like she hated it that it did. "They came on their own, and we obliged. They're afraid a new werewolf is somewhere they're not aware of, and they want to make sure nothing comes at us."

"We can take care of ourselves." Rosalie said with finality, and her voice just made me feel worse. I was always causing so many problems with her. Jasper's wave of calm was wearing off. Everything was much too tense.

The Quilete boys stood in the corner, arms behind their backs, waiting. Sam stood in front, and though Paul looked at any time ready to go into his wolf form, it seemed Sam had given him distinct orders, as he did not attack. A shiver ran down my spine—I hated seeing them all there without Jake and knowing it was my fault.

Carlisle coughed to get everyone's attention, and they all turned to him. However, it was not he who spoke, but Esme, who stood patiently beside him.

"This is a wedding rehearsal, if you don't recall." She said, her voice filled with nothing but love. It was like she had her own power of calming everyone else down—but it was a power that had nothing to do with being a vampire. "The wedding is in two days, and I'm quite sure none of us know what we're doing yet." She smiled, and Alice nodded. Suddenly she had the clipboard again—I couldn't figure out _where _she was constantly keeping that thing.

"Yes, well. Wedding rehearsal." As she began to speak, I faintly realized all the chairs were in place for the people that had accepted their invitations. There were so many chairs—did I _know_ this many people? I knew the answer was no, but I didn't believe the town of Forks could hold this many people, either. It seemed impossible.

We were there for hours. After a good dose of the monotony, the wolves left to sniff out the rest of the place. Everyone seemed visibly more relaxed after they were gone. The Cullens had stood stiffly, talking swiftly in reply to questions. Emmett made it a point to talk quickly, and often, maybe trying to make the visitors feel unwelcome. Then, after all that, my mother walked into the room. They had obviously told her a later time so that they could talk freely for a while. The wolves, of course, were gone, so they didn't have to worry about that. She had her arms linked with Phil's, but then she released him so she could run at me and wrap me up in a hug.

"Oh, Bella!" she said happily, looking around the room, soaking it all in. "Only two more days!"

It kind of amused me how excited she really seemed to be—she seemed like she had really, really accepted it. I hadn't planned on seeing that for a few years. I suddenly noticed I hadn't seen Charlie in a long time—not only that; he had made a promise to spend a day talking to me. Those days were dwindling. I'd have to go talk to him tonight.

"Renee, you'll be coming to the bachleorette party tomorrow, right?!" Alice asked happily, and Jasper made a very angry face. I sighed. She wasn't going to let this go.

"No, no, I don't think so." Renee shook her head. "I'll let me little girl have her fun without her Mom poking her nose in!"

"Moooom." I whined, "I'm not going to…"

"Now, now now!" she said, rolling her eyes in Phil's direction. "Phil and I will spend whatever night that is out on the town ourselves, I think!"

Alice went through the plans with my mother, who thought everything seemed absolutely perfect. She couldn't seem to find one flaw. I checked my watch—it was getting late. I stared at Edward for a second.

"If you don't mind," I told everyone, still staring at Edward, waiting for a reaction. "I'd like to go see my father. Alone."

Alice started to talk, and Renee looked kind of unhappy when I turned to her, but Edward nodded. "Yes, well. I assume that would be best. We'll see you later." And, before anyone could say anything else to him, he was pulling me out the door.

* * *

"I won't leave." He reminded me in the car. I nodded, but he kept talking. "I'm not going anywhere. They'll be expecting you to go to Charlie's—everyone will. So I'll be around. You can stay as long as you like—it's not like I have anywhere to be." I just kept nodding, trying to formulate a plan in my head. I missed my Dad terribly. I just wanted to know what was going on.

"It seems like he's been avoiding me lately." I told him, though I was really talking to myself. He reached over and squeezed my hand.

"He misses you, he's just scared." Edward explained, his voice soft.

"Scared of what?" I asked him, though I think I knew.

"He's scared of losing you." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"That's silly, he should…" I started, but I didn't know what he should do. He was losing me, wasn't he? I could never see him again.

"Things will work out." Edward promised, parking the car in front of my house. It scared me that Dad hadn't been fazed by how much I had been out lately. It made things so much worse in my mind. "I mean it." He leaned over and kissed my forehead, inhaling the scent of my hair. "Whenever you're ready, love." He told me. He opened the door for me, pulled me close to him for just a second, and then he was gone.

I nodded, even though he wasn't there any more. I walked up the house, it looked like the shell of the house I used to know—and I opened the door. Why did I feel like I should knock?

"Dad?" I called through the house. "Dad, it's me. Bella."

"Bells?" he called from the living room, but the TV wasn't on. "Hi, Bells. I'm in here."

When I found him, he was sitting on the couch, staring at the blank screen. "Bells, they're worried about Billy."

I hadn't even had time to sit down.


	11. Chapter 11

"Worried about Billy?" I sat down on the couch and watched him, waiting. He nodded, turned to me for a second, and then sighed.

"You know, if you ran away from me like Jake ran away from him, I'd have been a total mess and a wreck." He explained, still staring at me. "And Billy, he just took it so calm, and I couldn't understand. He kept saying he'd come back soon, he'd come back soon, he just needed time. I think it finally got to him, though. He's not been getting out of bed much, and he's getting paler and paler every time I go to see him. I'm sorry I haven't been around—I've just been trying to take care of him. He was starting to look better, we went fishing…" he stared up at the ceiling. "Last night he had a stroke, and they said he kept—" he stopped. Obviously, whatever it was Billy kept doing, he didn't want me to know. "Jake's friend, Sam, he's having a fit. I heard him telling all his buddies to get out there and find him, no matter what, that the game was over? I don't know what he expects. They're just kids…" he looked toward the TV. "But I hope they listen, Bella. I really, really hope they listen. Billy's in the hospital now, and he's alright, but I know this has to do with Jake leaving." And he was back to looking at me. I knew he could see how bad I was taking this—I was very pale, unable to talk. I couldn't believe it had come to this—and I was sure the pack had told Jake, so why the hell wasn't he coming home?! I was so angry with him. "Do you know anything, Bells? Anything at all?"

I swallowed, hard, trying to keep my mouth from drying shut. "If I did, I would be going to get him right now. He's being selfish now, that's all he's doing. I can't do any more for him than what I tried to do."

"So," he smiled, but it didn't make a difference. He still looked terribly sad. "I'll be walking you down the aisle soon enough, won't I?"

I could feel a million unanswered questions filling my head. I didn't know where to start. I didn't even know what was going on any more—everything was always such a blur. Charlie had become a constant that I paid no attention to—a watch I always wore but forgot to wind. I had been neglecting him, and I could see on his face that all this time he had missed me. And I had just thought I had been too, too busy…

"Listen, Dad." I said finally, rubbing my palms against my jeans, thinking. "I have an… erm… bachelorette party tonight." I said it finally, and he laughed. I knew he knew how much I hated this. "But tomorrow I'm all free, besides rehearsals. How about I come home and make you dinner? I'll make whatever you want. Edward will even stay gone for this one—just you and me." I wondered how Edward would feel about 'staying gone' exactly. He'd have to get over it this time.

But Dad was all formal business, the voice he used when he wanted to remind someone in Forks that he was Chief Swan. He sat up straighter, and said, "You know I've accepted Edward to become a part of our family and—"

"Yes, Dad, I know." I grinned, thinking about how ironic what I was saying was. "But he doesn't have to follow me _everywhere_."

Dad relaxed a bit and nodded, "I think it'd be nice for you to come over and make me dinner. I hope you'll come over every once in a while once you're a Cullen to make the poor lonely Swan some dinner. I don't know if I can live off of pizza."

He was obviously kidding, but what he said hurt me and cut me deep. I knew that once I was married, I could never come back to see him. I hoped more than anything he _could_ live off of pizza.

I decided the best way to go about it was to change the subject. "I'll make breakfast tomorrow, and then we can ride together to rehearsals." I tried to sound dignified and proper, like the idea of taking Charlie to wedding rehearsals didn't scare me. Renee and Phil would, of course, be there, and Charlie definitely wasn't over her. I think he okay with the fact that Phil got to walk with Esme—after all, he couldn't do it, he was walking me down the aisle. Not only that, there was always the fact that some unknown werewolf seemed to be haunting me everywhere I turned… that could put a damper on rehearsals.

"That sounds good, Bella." He got up, leaned over me, and kissed me on the head. "I'm glad you came over."

He said 'came over' like I was already gone. Maybe, to him, I already was.

* * *

"Oh, so I don't have to follow you everywhere, hmm?" he laughed, kissing my collarbone. I learned my head back and grinned. We were sitting on his bed—we had just got home. It seemed, once again, Edward was having his weird separation anxiety, and I had only been gone for an hour, tops. My… bachelorette party was soon, and I'd have to go downstairs and suck it up while I got awkward presents from girls who would laugh and nudge me and say, 'Oh, you know what _this _is for'.

"What are you doing tonight?" I asked, my breathing heavy from his kisses. He didn't stop trailing his lips along my neckline for a minute, and then he looked up at me, holding his weight on both sides so he didn't crush me.

"Hunting." He said happily, and I automatically reached up, tracing the purple shadows under his eyes.

"You're hungry." I said plainly, and he laughed.

"Yes, I do need to eat every once in a while." He shrugged. "We won't be far, Jasper is a little more than paranoid…" he paused for a second, thinking. "I must say, I'm not happy about the idea, either. More than anything, though, I trust Esme. She's better than all of us sometimes. She's got what she needs to survive, but she doesn't wear it on her sleeve. And I know that she'll be watching over you _all night._"

I rolled my eyes. Of course, even with Edward gone I'd have a babysitter. I shouldn't have expected anything else.

"And how will Jasper watch Alice?" The idea of someone watching Alice from something that probably wasn't even there was laughable.

Edward shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'm sure when we're not hunting he'll be asking me to listen in on what she's doing—like I said, we won't always be far." He tapped on his temple and smirked.

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered, more to myself than anything. "We've got to stay at Charlie's tonight, you know."

"That's fine!" Edward said happily. "I kind of miss jumping in and out of your window."

"Only you would miss that, Edward Cullen." I reminded him, scooting out from under him to go downstairs and reach my doom. It was better to just get it over with, right?

* * *

Wrong.

The Cullen house could surely fit a wide number of visitors, but I still felt like I was suffocating with the amount of females closing in on me. All I could smell was perfume and wine, girls drank happily, though they were not of age yet. They drank with their pinkies up, laughing, making friends again. Everyone was back together after graduation, and everyone was gossiping separately, but at the same time, with everyone else. I felt like I had initiated a sleepover, and even though it was my house, I was that little girl that cried from tummy aches and missed her Mommy. The boys were long gone, off hunting somewhere, and Rosalie looked constantly alert, ready to jump on anything that jumped out at her. However, Esme and Alice were the pictures of perfection. Esme walked around the room handing out food, smiling, patting girls on the head. Alice demanded that everyone pay attention to me and, even if I didn't want to mingle, I was forced.

"Time for presentssss!" Alice said happily, and I groaned, sinking back into my spot on the couch. All the girls were laughing and clapping, obviously ready to see the gag gifts I'd get. I'd bet anything Edward had taken a break from hunting to listen in and see what I was getting, as well.

* * *

After too many pieces of disgustingly flimsy lingerie to count, I was very much so ready to crawl into a hole and assume my life as a rabbit. I didn't want to have to see anyone's face as they burst into laughter every time I opened a new box to find something from Victoria's Secret waiting for me. Each time, I'd blush deep red and stuff it in the bag, grabbing for the next one. Obviously, they had planned this out, because almost everything I got was something I could only wear if I could fill it out with my curves. I had a feeling Alice had had something to do with this, but I didn't bother to push her.

I was cleaning up stray pieces of wrapping paper while Alice ran around the room at her lightning speed, tossing cups into a paper bag. Rosalie leaned up against the wall, watching us both, thinking.

She snapped out of it suddenly, shaking her head. "I'm surprised nothing happened." She said finally, and I looked up at her. Alice stopped her running to look, too.

"I told Jasper he had nothing to worry about." Alice shrugged calmly. Esme came back in the room from cleaning some dishes she had used to serve out food. For a vampire, she was a fabulous cook.

"I'm going to go get Emmett and tell him to help clean." Rosalie said finally, getting up and walking toward the door. "The party lasted a few hours, and they left a bit before. They should be back by now."

Alice nodded, staring out the window for a second. It was pitch black; you couldn't see a thing except for Rosalie's pale, shining figure in the light, a ghost in the dark. I sighed, finishing up with the wrapping paper and starting on something else.

Suddenly, all I could hear was a thick crunching sound, then a loud, high snarl. Alice's eyes widened as she stared out the window, and her mouth dropped to form a solid 'O' for just a second before she was out the door.

"What's going on?!" I demanded of Esme, who was looking out the window now, hurt masking her face.

"Oh, this is not good." She turned to me, staring, obviously trying to figure out what to do. "Bella, I think you should go…"

"No." I stood defiant, refusing to be left out this time. "What's going on?!"

"Are you sure you want to hear this?" Esme asked, pleading in her eyes. She really didn't want to tell me.

"Yes." I told her, confused as to what could be going on. "Yes, Esme. Please tell me."

"It seems," Esme stared toward the window again. "Someone—or something—just threw Rosalie into a tree."

Usually, this would have seemed like a funny joke. Someone threw someone into a tree? Laughable, no one could hit that hard and make that noise. No one but a vampire. But who on Earth would do this, and what would they be intending to do…?

* * *

"I was attacked." Rosalie refused to sit still while Esme tried to take care of her, checking her for wounds until Carlisle and the boys came back from their trip. Esme tried to get her to lie down, but Rosalie wouldn't do it. She sat up, staring at Esme as if begging her to make her lie down again, just to see what would happen.

"We don't know you were attacked." Esme replied, putting on her soothing motherly tone.

"I was attacked!" Rosalie demanded, her voice suddenly shrill. Alice flinched. She had been the one to find Rosalie, of course. She said that the tree Rosalie had 'ran into' cracked into two pieces, the top piece hitting the ground. Rosalie seemed unharmed, but Esme didn't care.

"Whoever it was, they didn't just pick me up and toss me into a tree, you know!" she added, unhappy with the idea that someone could do such a thing, I assumed. "Something tried to jump on me—it was too dark to see. I fought him, and then I was hitting the tree and it was gone. I could smell him…" she shrugged. "If I had to guess, though, I think I might know."

"And your guess?" Alice asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. We all knew what it had to have been—if Alice hadn't seen it, there was only one thing that could obscure her visions.

The next noise I heard sent shivers down my spine. As the door to the room burst open and the night air blew in, Emmett let out a roar. Loud and uninhibited, I knew that whatever werewolf nearby would understand. Emmett was ready to kill.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" he demanded, rounding on Alice. It seemed everyone expected Alice to know all the answers. "HOW DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!"

"Werewolf." Alice said shortly, glaring at him. She was obviously sick of everyone blowing up on her.

"You know, Emmett," Rosalie added, falling back into the cushions. "I'm over here, and I'm not hurt."

"But you could have been!" Emmett still yelled, and he snarled as he spoke, but he had calmed down a little bit, and for that I was thankful. Finally, Edward was in the door, followed by Jasper, Carlisle closing the door behind him. Edward stared at me, a look in his eyes I couldn't understand.

"This isn't funny any more." Emmett laughed, though, as he said this, and he rolled his shoulders, staring at the closed door. "They tried to kill my Rose. This used to be funny, oh, this used to be a game, but now they're trying to hurt my Rose."

"Your Rose is fine!" Rosalie stood up now, staring at him, about to walk over to him when Emmett threw his arms in the air.

"Don't you understand?!" he asked her, obviously thinking she was insane. "You could have been! You were inches away from being! I'll kill him. Whoever this is, I'll kill him. As soon we find him I'll-" Emmett turned right around and punched a whole in the wall.

"Emmett, there's no reason to cause the house to cave in on top of us." Carlisle soothed, nudging Jasper to send waves of calm I knew Emmett didn't want. "We can handle this."

"Let's go." I hadn't even noticed Edward behind me, but his arms were wrapped around my waist and his lips were at my ear. I didn't have time to protest, because he had scooped me up and I was on his back, and I knew we were running to my house.

* * *

"It's my fault Emmett's so angry." Edward whispered in my ear, curled up against me as I cuddled up into my blankets. "I was reading Alice's thoughts—we were on the way home, you know, and I just didn't know…" he sighed. "I hit the ground, and I was screaming 'Rose' when he stopped dead in his tracks. Carlisle was already trying to calm the situation, but you know Emmett. He just wouldn't listen. I tried to keep from telling him but, there was no chance of him letting it go. That's understandable; I wouldn't have listened to anything if I thought you might have been hurt. I told him something had happened to her and…." He sighed. "You know the rest of the story." He stared at me, running his cool finger along my lips, and it sent shivers through me. "I was worried that Emmett might hurt you, but I knew better than that. Either way, the situation was getting too hectic; I had to get you out of there. We're so close to the wedding…" he sighed.

"This is the problem, Bella." He said after a long pause. "Whoever this person is, they were just an annoyance before. They were just causing problems with Alice's visions, but we all assumed they wouldn't do any harm. Otherwise, we would have never left. Now, however, we know better. And Emmett, Emmett will surely kill whoever it is when he finds out. Its different now, Bella. We've got to be careful."

He pulled his hand away from my lips and pressed his against mine. I could feel the rush in my scalp down to the tips of my toes as his mouth moved against mine, perfect and restless and always wanting more but never being able to _have_ more—was that me or him? I couldn't tell in moments like this, when we seemed to fit as one person, when everything I did made him move the same way and everything he did made me feel like I was flying. He ran his hand down my leg, doodling little circles into my thigh with his fingertips. He ran his hand down to my calf and hitched my leg up around him. This time, I knew better than to get my hopes up, and to just appreciate the moment while it lasted. I pushed my body against his—I didn't want any space between us. I never wanted space between us again.

* * *

I just wanted to say, BILLY IS NOT A NEW WEREWOLF! In my mind that would be kind of silly, and I know I might have given off that impression, but that is not the case! He's quite old, you silly people! However, if you can figure it out, I'll definitely give you a prize. I doubt any of you will get it all, though. Next chapter will be rehearsals and then, if I can get it in, the start of the wedding, which will be the REAL FUN! Just you wait to see what's going to happen there! Oh, and sorry I didn't go into the bachelorette party- I think Bella suffered enough as it was. Reviews make everything faster, you know. ;)


	12. Chapter 12

Yes, I know how late I am. Hush. ;) But I do plan on starting back up on this, if I still have readers! If you're still interested in this story, please leave a review or something saying so, so I know my time is not wasted. Otherwise I won't think anyone is reading since I stopped! This one might be a bit long, and I'm skipping parts I'm really not interested in writing… I'll summarize what happened in those moments, though. So we'll see. Back to your regularly scheduled Twilight:

* * *

It was dark. I was choking on water, I couldn't breathe. I tried to open my eyes, but they stung, burning like wildfire spread across them. I closed them and begged to keep the water surrounding me from filling my lungs. I felt something on my neck, it was a hand, pushing me down, forcing me into the water. I was drowning... I was going to die. The hand was hot, rough, and just the opposite of Edward's—I cried his name into the water, begging him to save me, but I knew he couldn't hear me, I was in too deep.

Then the hand jerked back and I was forced upward. I tried to open my eyes, but it still hurt. The hand on my neck clenched my arm, and I felt the other on the opposite side. The person started shaking me, and I closed my eyes tight, trying to fight it off.

"Tell me what you know!!" the voice screamed, and I knew that voice… I knew it well. My eyes flew open, and there was Jacob, staring me in the face. "Tell me what you know, Bella!" he bellowed, and I stuttered, I asked, what was he doing to me? I didn't know what he wanted, I didn't know…

"You're not ready to talk?" he asked, and his voice was filled with rage. He was shaking. I opened my mouth to talk, and when no words came out, he shook his head, and I was back in the water again. I screamed as loud as I could.

Then I fell off the bed.

I never hit the ground, and I wouldn't be sure I even fell off the bed if I didn't feel the air hit my face and the floor under my feet. That was the only part of me touching the floor—Edward had caught me.

"Stay here." He demanded. The look in his eyes was frantic. "I'll be out in a second."

He was gone. I knew as soon as my door opened he had run to the closet— Charlie was coming.

"Bella?!" he said, surprised. He was pale as a ghost, sweating. "Bella, are you okay? You were screaming… I haven't heard you scream like that in…"

"I was screaming?" I looked down, stared at my hands, as if they would tell me what was going on. "I was just having a bad dream, Dad. It was…" I shrugged. "Just a nightmare. It happens. I'll be down in a little bit to make you breakfast, okay? Just go to back to bed."

He looked stern, like he wanted to disagree with me. But I was getting up already, and he seemed to take it that I knew better than he did what I needed. As soon as the door closed on me, Edward was picking me up.

"I told you to stay here." He said, sitting on the floor as he ran his hands over my face—I was so clammy and hot that it felt like the cold of his fingers would burn me. I flinched and his hands fell back from my face hesitatingly. "What happened?"

I was starting to regain my composure, so I tried to stand up. Edward, as softly as he possibly could, pushed me back down. "Talk to me, Bella, you've scared me to death—and that's not the easiest thing to do."

I smiled at his joke, but the look in his eyes told me he wasn't joking. If possible, he looked even paler than usual. I knew he had completely lost his composure.

"What was I screaming?" I demanded finally. If I was going to be giving out any information, I wanted to know what I had missed first.

Edward shook his head, so I crossed my arms, unmoving. He glared at me silently for a moment, let out a deep breath, and started talking slowly. "First you were screaming for me… you asked me to help. I tried to wake you up, and you wouldn't budge. Then you started whining, you said something about not knowing what he wanted out of you? And then…" he looked down at my hands and shuddered. "You screamed." He looked into my eyes. "It was the worst thing I've ever heard. You were crying in your sleep, you were shaking… and I tried so hard to wake you but I couldn't…" he swallowed. "Then you just, tossed yourself off the bed, really."

"It was just a nightmare." I reminded him, and he put his hands on my face again, watching my every move. "It's no big deal, it's over now, and that's that."

"What happened?" his voice was soft, like he was scared he'd hurt me if he spoke too loudly.

"I was being tortured." I said it as if it were solid fact. I didn't let my voice crack, I was tough. "They would hold me under water and when I wouldn't talk they'd push me back in…"

"Who would, Bella?" he watched me intently, digging his eyes into me, begging for a reaction he could make help him to understand.

I didn't want to say it… I turned my head and swallowed. I felt like I couldn't say it, but I couldn't lie to him. "A wolf." I announced finally, and I hoped it wouldn't register with him what exactly I meant. Of course it did.

"Ah." He said plainly. He looked me up and down and then picked me up, putting me on the bed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure." I told him, and I saw a glint fly through his eyes.

"Positive?" he murmured, and his lips pushed up against my neck, forming kisses and whispering words to me that I couldn't hear.

"Yes, Edward," I replied, trying to remain strong and keep from showing my resolve melting, but I let my head fall back farther, giving him more access to my neck. "I need to go downstairs and start Dad's breakfast."

"You told him to go back to bed," Edward's lips were at my ear, and I felt him let his ice-cold tongue flick against my earlobe. He wasn't playing fair. "Why can't you rest, too?" I knew he was trying to get my mind off of my dream, and I was just fine, thank you, why couldn't he just let me go?

"Edward," I meant for it to sound like a stern, angry warning, but it sounded like a whisper, and he laughed.

"Go back to bed." He said to me, and I shook my head. "Breakfast." I told him, and my words were getting quieter and quieter. I hated it. My breathing was getting worse and worse now, I didn't know why he always had to do this to me. With one last hope, I looked up at him and whispered, "Please?"

He was powerless after I used my worst weapon— he rolled off of me and fell on the other side of the bed, smiling at me. "I'll see you at rehearsals, love." Then, he stretched himself out across the bed and made himself comfortable, singing himself a tune. I knew he had no intention of leaving until I did.

* * *

I pulled out all the stops for Dad's breakfast- I didn't know which reason I had for doing it. I wanted to give him a nice going-away present, even if he didn't know it, and I wanted to keep my mind off things. We could have been at a restaurant for all I had made by the time he came downstairs; I was frying bacon when he got there, having just finished the scrambled eggs and put them on the table. Beside the eggs were pancakes, some toast, and I had even managed to scrounge up some orange juice from the back of the fridge; I had already put our drinks in the glass, but left the carton there in case he needed more. When he came down, I looked to him and smiled.

"Bacon's almost done!" I explained before he could ask. He sniffed the kitchen appreciatively, and I wondered how Edward felt about smelling all this up there in my bedroom. I'm sure he was purely disgusted, which I kind of enjoyed for his treatment of me earlier in the day. I was big enough to deal with fixing my Dad breakfast, after all. He had no reason to treat me like a child… and use his special talents to win the fight. Once the bacon WAS done, I scooped it onto a plate and plopped it on the table with the rest of my breakfast foods. Charlie already had two plates- he was piling pancakes on one and some scrambled eggs on the other. He grabbed the syrup and gave himself a nice helping, and then started looking around for what I assumed was butter. I got up, went to the fridge, and handed him what he was looking for. He smiled, looking grateful. Once his pancakes were good and slathered up in butter and syrup, he cut a piece off and took a bite. He leaned back into his chair, obviously completely content.

I wasn't very hungry, but I realized Dad would take this as a sign that I was still shaken; and I wasn't, dammit, I just wasn't hungry. So I grudgingly put some scrambled eggs and bacon on my plate, then started picking at a piece of toast. Charlie was digging deep into his breakfast like he had been starving for months.

"Bells, where on Earth did you learn to cook?" he asked me, shaking his head. Truthfully, I had always cooked; Renee just wasn't very good at it, and I had learned from TV shows and recipe books. The few people that had taught me anything about cooking were my grandparents- most of it just came over time, though. I blushed, ducking my head and putting the toast I hadn't even eaten down, though by now it was in a million different pieces. I pulled a piece of bacon apart and popped the small part in my mouth, chewing slowly. I felt like my stomach turned over.

"You can find someone to cook for you while I'm gone to college." I said finally, and my words stung my heart. He really wouldn't find someone to cook for him- he'd stay here alone and rot. It killed me to know that. Renee had Phil- Charlie had me, and now I was leaving him.

He sighed, seeming to think the same thing, but refusing to say it out loud in fear of hurting me, I guessed. We weren't good at talking about our in-depth feelings. I guessed he'd let that one drop, just to make sure the mood was light. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Bella…" he said slowly, and I could tell by the seriousness in his voice that he wasn't trying to keep the mood light at all. He just had other things on his mind. "Last night, you nearly scared me into a heart attack. I haven't heard you like that in so long…" he paused, and I gulped. I didn't have any idea what he was going to say. "Are things okay between you and… and Edward?"

I think he had trouble saying the name, and that was his hesitation. Maybe he didn't want to hate Edward again, or maybe he was looking for a reason. I definitely couldn't tell which. I knew to answer him truthfully, though. He deserved that much, and besides, I was fine.

"Yes, Dad." I said it kind of softly, hoping maybe that'd help him believe it. I wasn't jumping into it to make sure he believed me, I was telling the truth, and that would make him believe me. "I am more happy than I have ever been." I looked out the window, because I was wondering the same thing he was definitely wondering- why was I having dreams about Jacob, then? He didn't know it had been Jacob, but still. Why was I letting him follow me now, to haunt me now?

He looked like he believed me. He nodded and started eating again, and I decided to try to do what I had known I'd have to do for a while now; try to tell him goodbye without really telling him clearly. I waited a while, until he was almost done eating. We talked about different things- he told me things about fishing that I pretended to be the least bit interested in. We'd have to leave for rehearsals soon. I decided it was finally time. He had nowhere to run; his stomach was very full, while my plate was covered in scraps of food I had not eaten, but instead demolished. "I'm going to miss you a lot, Dad." I told him, and I looked into his eyes, not wanting to shy away from this moment. I blushed, but I ignored it. It didn't matter, I had to do this. "I love you so much, and you're an amazing father. I'm sorry some things had to turn out the way they did- you deserve better than some of the things you got. Really."

He didn't seem prepared for this, though he definitely seemed like he appreciated what I had said. Finally, he gave me a somewhat watery smile; he had tears in his eyes. "Bella, you're the best thing I ever got, and that's all I need to be happy. Plus, you're happy. I want lots of phone calls, okay? Tons."

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. He had asked me for phone calls- something I could easily do. "Of course." I told him, getting up and kissing him on the top of his head.  
"So many you'll get sick of the phone ringing."

* * *

The morning of my wedding, I woke up in Edward's bed. It was quiet, for the moment. Alice hadn't come in to attack me and primp me yet, which I was thankful for. I stretched, ready to curl back into bed and resume my sleep until Alice forced me to wake, but Edward had other plans. Wrapping me up in his arms and kissing down my neck, he grinned against my throat.

"Today's the big day you become all mine." He murmured, and I rolled my eyes.

"We both know I'm already all yours." I reminded him, and he couldn't help but laugh softly against my skin.

"Yes, well. Now you'll have a ring on your finger. When those high school boys see you they'll know good and well they have absolutely no chance at all now." He smiled again, I could feel it. It was silly how much he worried about others getting a hold of me.

"Good thing Tanya won't be there." I said suddenly, deep in thought. "She might have stood up when they asked if anyone objected."

Edward looked at me and rolled his eyes. "She's over me now, Bella. She just doesn't like Alice. Alice did have her reasons, but- she's not the most civil out of the family." He shrugged, almost indifferent if Alice was rude to Tanya or not. I was sure he agreed that she had no reason to treat me as if I were ignorant.

"I'm quite civil, thank you very much!" Alice twirled into the room, literally twirled, so excited about the idea of what would happen that day.

"Civil people don't listen in on personal conversations." Edward reminded her, rolling off of me.

Alice stuck her tongue out at him, before running up to me and grabbing my hand. "Come on!" she demanded. "It's time to get ready. Kiss Edward goodbye- you're not seeing him for the rest of the day."

I groaned, slumping. I didn't like the idea of not seeing Edward for six hours- the time apart would be nearly unbearable. Edward looked equally as unhappy about it, but I thought it was for separate reasons; he knew yesterday I had had that awful dream, and now he didn't want to leave my side. He hadn't left me alone one time since then; once I was done talking to Charlie and I drove wit him to the hotel for rehearsals, he followed along behind us, seeming to cut in at the perfect spot. Charlie thought it a silly coincidence, but I just rolled my eyes. I knew he had just waited until the exact moment to leave his house, sped up after us until he was right behind us, and had followed Charlie's thoughts the entire time. After rehearsals he drove me to get some Chinese takeout- I was still incredibly full from the minimal breakfast I HAD eaten, but he urged me to eat, knowing good and well why I did not. I spent the rest of the day in bed with him, until I fell asleep. Luckily, I had been dreamless.

Edward seemed to understand that I was incredibly safe with Alice, though. When he thought I couldn't see him he tapped his finger to his temple and gave Alice a very pointed look. She thought something he didn't like, because he growled at her- it was more playful or chiding, nothing serious. Alice just laughed and dragged me into the bathroom; pulling out so much makeup I knew I must have looked completely awful in comparison to what she would turn me into.

* * *

Once my makeup was on I was ushered out of the house; Edward was stuck with the boys, I assumed, otherwise he would have demanded to go with us. He definitely would not like being in the same house as me.

"How are you keeping Edward from knowing we're leaving?" I asked, expecting him to come out soon.

"Oh, he knows." Alice explained, obviously proud of herself as she stuffed me into the car and then got into her own side. "Emmett and Jasper just aren't letting him go anywhere until you're there and safely in the back room." She shrugged, and I heard something crack in the house. I stared at Alice and she rolled her eyes.

"Edward really doesn't like you leaving." She commented sadly. "He broke some stupid hideous fish tank we had in the attic; lord only knows why we had it anyway." She was backing out of the driveway now. "Wish he would've had the incentive to break something of Rose's, she's been driving me insane."

Since Rosalie's 'attack', or whatever it was, she'd been absolutely against having the wedding. She assumed that Edward and I could live in sin for a bit longer until this was settled, but everyone was already in town and everything had been prepared. Alice, of course, absolutely refused, and a part of me just wanted it over with anyway. Edward was incredibly adamant abut it continuing- he was sure nothing would happen to anyone, that there would be no danger. I didn't know what to think any more. Something definitely wasn't going the way it was supposed to, that much I was sure of.

I was thinking about how many things that had been punched and broken in the Cullen house lately, and I sighed. Hopefully everything would be fine soon enough. The wedding was just a few hours away, and then we would all be okay. Then things would be going right. I didn't trust Edward, though. He'd lie to make sure I was okay, I was sure of it.

Once we got to the hotel, everything went straight into a total chaos. Alice shuffled me into the back and began setting everything up inside the huge room; she hadn't wanted me to see all of it; she wanted me to be surprised. I had no idea what she was planning. I stayed in my room, all alone, and there was no mirror in sight- I sat in a chair, waiting. I heard people showing up and I knew that Edward had to be out there somewhere. Alice was probably filing people into their seats, preparing them. Finally, Esme and Rosalie came in- they quickly changed into their gowns, which were a beautiful warm gold like their eyes, and helped me into my dress. I had been in it before, and it had definitely scared me then- now was a little less scary, and I couldn't figure out why. They plopped me down and slid some shoes on my feet that I was sure were going to kill me- their heels were too big for any normal human's standards, especially my own. Alice had put too much faith in me, obviously.

Alice was back and changing within seconds. Once she was done, she peeked her head out the door and whispered for Charlie to come in. Once he did, I could see him in his tux- he looked quite nice, and I almost wanted to cry. I definitely shouldn't have been this lucky. I didn't cry, though. I would have time to cry later. Now was the time to be strong. Renee filed in soon and then the boys came in, too. Emmett gave me a thumbs up and winked, saying something about the honeymoon I didn't catch. Jasper seemed to be feeling the mood, but he felt nothing wrong, I supposed. He was definitely waiting for something bad to happen.

The music started, and everyone worked themselves into a line. Carlisle and Renee went first, Renee looking more than happy to be clinging to his arm, a bright smile across her face. Then went Phil and Esme. Esme seemed to radiate off of him, making him look beautiful. I didn't know how she did it, but she just seemed to make everything around her better. After that, Rosalie and Emmett, arm in arm, came out. I couldn't see what happened to them as they went, I simply watched them leave. Next Alice and Jasper, Alice positively beaming with what she knew was going perfectly.

Then I heard the music. They were all waiting for me. I could hear the shifting- everyone was standing up to get up and watch me. I stared at Charlie, afraid of what to do. He rolled his eyes and reached for my arm. Sometimes, I just needed my Dad to guide me in the right direction again.

* * *

Right. Well. Next chapter will be a lot more than any of us bargained for- the secrets of who's been attacking revealed. Remember to review and remind me you're still interested!


	13. Chapter 13

I moved slowly, in my own little trance. I didn't let myself look anywhere near my feet- I knew the instant I did, I'd fall right on the train of my gown and ruin the entire moment. Charlie was clinging to me for dear life, trying to make sure I was positioned properly, or maybe wanting to hold on to me the last few moments that he'd have me. I didn't know which, and I didn't what to know which. I stared toward the preacher, who was waiting in the front, but there was something that kept catching my eye. I refused to look, though. I knew looking at Edward before I was standing up straight would cause my knees to go wobbly. The line down the room wasn't as long as I had imagined before, even if everyone was standing up and waiting for me. Once I reached Edward, I still didn't look at him, bracing myself. I was about to turn when Charlie, ignoring everyone staring, (which was quite a feat for him,) leaned over and kissed me on the head before turning and taking his seat.

It was then that I got my first look at Edward-I almost had to do a double take. It had to be criminal for him to look that amazing. Of course, what had I expected? This was the best day of his very, very long life. I knew that he would have pulled out all the stops- he had to be dazzling all the ladies in the wide-spanned area. I knew he was nearly driving me insane, and I had seen that face of his too many times now to count- I had probably dreamed about it more so than that. I could hardly pay attention to what was going on- I think Edward could see that, as he was looking quite smug with himself. I did, however, manage to catch when I was supposed to say "I do." I said it with finality, hoping that Edward would catch that I was no longer afraid of all of this. I was ready to be married.

When we kissed, Edward kissed me with ferocity. I didn't know what exactly he was trying to convey to me, but I was too engrossed in the kiss to really pay attention. Without even waiting, Edward picked me up and walked me right through the hall, then ended up running through the empty hotel lobby, popping me into the car and kissing me hard.

"Hello, Bella Cullen." He said, his voice nearly a song, and I laughed, looking behind us.

"You just left the entire wedding party!" I demanded, but he wasn't pay attention. He was already stepping on the gas.

"They know where to go."

* * *

The reception was nearly over, thank God. We had taken nearly a thousand pictures, thanks to Alice's demands. I had smashed cake in Edward's face to preserve him from having to eat it, but he definitely still had to smell it along the way. Oh well, at least it made for good pictures. There were few people left that I hadn't mingled with, and everyone was on their way home. After a very long dance with Edward I saw two girls sitting at one table gossiping, their heads dipped into each other- they were obviously talking about something juicy. I blushed, immediately thinking it was me, when Jessica pulled her head up and waved me over.

I didn't get far, though, before I saw the girl she was talking to. If she were a vampire, this girl could give Rosalie a run for her money. She had red hair, almost orange, that fell around her face in Shirley-temple curls. She was just tan enough, with freckles dotting all over the bridge of her nose. She had big, pink lips and bright blue eyes. I was immediately stuck on her eyes, because in them was the appearance one took when wishing to wound- she didn't like me. This much I could tell easily- I had seen this same look from the always-beautiful Rosalie.

"You remember Melanie Patrick, right Bella?" Jessica asked in her best hyperactive voice; she must have known I had no idea who this girl was, I had never seen her before in my life. "She was just telling me this great story about how while she was on a hiking trip, someone saved her life!"

"Never saw the guy, though." Melanie's voice was smooth but dark; I could hear her throwing out a lot of insults in my mind. Why did I dislike her so much from the start? She swirled her water around in its glass. "Ran off as soon as he saved me- makes for a better story, though, I suppose." Melanie looked over my shoulder toward Edward, then back at me, smiling as politely as she could without putting too much strain on her face. Edward was across the dance floor, talking to Carlisle. I had no idea what he was really doing, though. Probably listening in. Something was definitely up here.

Jessica excused herself, and as I looked around I realized the party was nearly over. Few people were hanging around- actually, everyone was gone but the family and Melanie. Phil, Renee, and Charlie had excused themselves after a good few hours and when everyone started to get a bit too tipsy.

"One hell of a party you're throwing here." Melanie pulled up her glass and winked at me. "I can't believe you landed Edward." She added, and I knew that she had been waiting for this moment. This was her target. "Jessica asked him out God knows how many times! I didn't bother… he's not my type."

I laughed, I couldn't help but laugh. From the tone of her voice, he was exactly her type. She glared at me, unamused by my hostility. Then again, I had always been the jealous type. Melanie stood up, and I wondered what was going to come next- I had the sudden feeling she was going to hit me.

Just then, Edward was at my side incredibly quickly- too quickly to look human. "Hello, Melanie." He said, his voice like smooth silk, until he said her name. There was a sharp edge to his voice. "I haven't seen you since graduation."

"Yes, well." Melanie was obviously not interested in speaking of graduation- she was grabbing her purse to leave. "Graduation day wasn't that interesting, was it?"

"As I recall," Edward said sweetly, "it was quite interesting." He paused for a moment. "Finishing high school, you know."

Then it clicked. She had made a pass at him on graduation and he had passed her up. Of course he had- so many things had been happening on graduation day at school, I could have left him for a few moments to let her stalk him like prey. He was very obviously mine at the time, how dare she?

"Yes, well!" her voice, though she had tried to keep it calm, was now becoming slightly shrill. "I didn't think it was interesting at all." She snapped her purse shut and started to walk away.

I stared at Edward for a moment, affronted. "She asked you out on graduation day?!" I demanded, unsure at who I was supposed to target my rage.

"Yes, well." Edward seemed indifferent- I knew she meant nothing to him, but this was still a big deal. He kissed my neck. "She knows better now, doesn't she?"

I sighed, suddenly feeling very terrible about what I had just done. I obviously had not been thinking clearly- I had been really rude to that girl, when all she had done was fallen under Edward's charms… who hadn't done that? I had to at least make an effort to apologize.

"I'll be back." I explained, regretfully pulling myself away from Edward and stepping out into the grass- obviously not the best idea while still wearing incredibly high heels.

"Melanie!" I called out after her, and I teeter-tottered on the heels toward her, mentally kicking myself for not taking the Devil's contraptions off when I had the chance. Just as I began to reach her, the thing I had waited on all day happened. I tripped and fell. Reaching out to her for support, I sent us both toppling to the ground.

Then, a lot of things happened very, very quickly.

I felt something smash into me. Whatever it was was fire-hot and burning; I couldn't make heads or tails of it, but I was almost positive one of my fingers had been broken in the process, getting smashed back into the ground as we rolled. Then, the solid fire was pushed off of me and I felt myself flying through the air- it felt like flying, but in seconds I was on the ground again- I was against a tree. As soon as I got my bearings, I realized Edward was standing in front of me. He had obviously put me here, and he now let out the worst snarl I had ever heard in my entire life.

Then, I realized that Melanie was gone- where, I didn't know, but she was no longer in the picture. However, a lot of people had showed up pretty quickly. These people included Carlisle, trying to calm the situation, Esme, her mouth wide-open and staring, Emmett, who was being held back by Jasper, Rosalie, and Alice at the same time, for he was snarling and snapping at something I couldn't quite see… and then Jacob Black, absolutely shaking with rage.

My finger stabbed with pain, but I couldn't do anything about it. "What's going on?!" I demanded of Edward, who turned to me with a look of pure rage- I nearly cowered, unaware if I had done something wrong.

"Jacob Black just attacked you." He said curtly, and my eyes widened- there was absolutely no way he would do that to me. "It seems," he added slowly, "he was trying to save the life of the girl."

It was a good thing Edward had stopped then, because Emmett could see nothing but red by this point. Esme and Carlisle had joined the fight of holding him back- no matter how strong they were, Emmett was gigantic and obviously filled with much more power and rage. Jake stood in the middle, shaking but not changing forms.

"You're the one that attacked Rose?!" Emmett demanded, still trying to push all his family members out of the way for a better look. Edward was torn, it seemed. We both knew if he went to help stop Emmett they could catch him, but he didn't know if he should still be protecting me. I didn't know why he was protecting me… this was obviously a mistake. Jacob wouldn't attack me. "I should have known that scent!"

"It's changed." Edward said calmly, though he still held his protective stance over me. "Something's changed about him. I've never seen a scent change before…"

"She was going to hurt her!" Jake said suddenly, and he pointed a wild finger at me. Edward roared again, and I pushed myself up against the tree.

"Don't," I moaned, and I thought my knees were going to give out. My best friend, my best friend I hadn't seen in so long, he was right here, and Edward was going to kill him.

"I had to stop her." Jacob sounded almost like he was pleading, but like he refused to listen to anything else anyone had to say. Emmett still wasn't listening, and out of nowhere he managed to shake them all off and make a lunge at Jacob. What was odd was that I knew Edward could have seen this coming as soon as Emmett thought of it- why hadn't Edward made a move to stop him? He couldn't want Jake killed too. But the man in him seemed to get the better of him, and he collided with Emmett at the exact moment, the sound of two boulders hitting and cracking together.

"He's mine!" Emmett demanded, but Jacob was gone, back off into the forest.

"If he's anyone's," Edward said slowly, holding Emmett back once again. Emmett seemed to have lost some of his anger; he now looked simply exhausted. "He's mine. He has done more than enough to give me reason to kill him- he just tried to kill Bella."

"He tried to kill Rosalie! I'll fight you for him, I don't care!" Emmett didn't look at her, but he pointed, and Rosalie did something I didn't expect- she rolled her eyes.

She stepped toward Emmett slowly, and pushing Edward away, she murmured into his ear some words I couldn't hear. Emmett seemed to relax at once. Edward, who seemed to be trying to ignore them, ran toward me and immediately began examining the finger I couldn't move.

"It's broken. Your bones are all but dust in here." He determined, moving his fingers against mine softly, barely even touching. Waves of calm were coming from Jasper. He was obviously now calm enough to calm the situation as well. "Your dress is all dirty- we'll get that cleaned, don't worry."

I felt like I was going to faint. I had already forgotten that I was wearing a wedding dress, of that I had even just been married at all. "What…" I demanded, "Is going on?"

Edward smiled, though it didn't touch his eyes. "It seems you stumbled- literally- upon Jacob's imprint."

* * *

It was at this point in the evening that I passed out. I didn't feel it, and I wasn't even aware it happened, but I was definitely in the back yard of the Cullen's house before I woke up and I was in Edward's bed. There was something on my finger- it felt like a splint. I didn't bother trying to wiggle it, it was in terrible pain. I could feel something cool sweeping the hair out of my face.

"She's fine?!" I heard Edward whisper, though his voice was frantic and I could hardly understand his words. I felt his fingers against my wrist- feeling for a pulse.

"She's perfectly fine." Carlisle promised, his voice as calm as ever. "Give her a break, she's been through a lot just now, and she doesn't even know the half of it, Edward." He suddenly sounded just as exhausted as I felt. "It's been a long day."

"She's awake!" Alice added, but her voice wasn't as happy as it had seemed before. She actually seemed kind of grave.

"Oh, Bella." Edward murmured into my ear, pressing his face against mine. I still didn't open my eyes- that felt like so much effort, and I was so tired. "I'm so sorry. I should have been watching you, I should have…" he trailed off, unsure of what he should have done.

"You're lucky Emmett didn't get to him." Alice said promptly.

"Only lucky because now I can get to him myself." Edward's voice was sharp. I cringed- I didn't want to hear about who Edward wanted to go get revenge on. This was still Jacob. No one seemed to notice my movement, however.

"Jacob couldn't help it." Carlisle spoke slowly. I think he wanted me to hear this, too. "He's young and foolish and very obviously in love. You heard his thoughts, Edward. He's the one who saved her from getting mauled by that bear in the woods. He's been following her everywhere, tracking her, thinking her time would come soon because he had saved her. He doesn't realize what he's done… he's in love with her."

"I'm more than in love with Bella," Edward obviously refused to see reason. "And I was never tackling innocent people for her. She broke her finger when he ran at her- I was so slow, I could have stopped him…"

"He imprinted, Edward. It's his duty to save her. He thought Bella was going to hurt her for trying to do whatever it was she did…" Carlisle obviously wasn't interested in delving into that any further. I wanted to thank him for that.

"Edward…" I muttered, and before he could figuratively burst into tears or think I was giving him my final wishes, I tried to sit myself up. Immediately, I felt a sharp pain in my head. Edward softly pushed me back down.

When I opened my eyes, he was smiling. "You managed to hit your head pretty hard." He rolled his eyes at me, obviously amused and feeling very smug. "You'll feel better by morning, Carlisle said. Just gotta take it easy tonight."

I groaned and rolled up in the blankets. "So much for a honeymoon."

"Oh, don't worry." Edward said happily, slipping into the bed and curling up to me. "I'll be right here with you tonight."

"This is not what I had in mind." I muttered to myself, and I could hear Alice laughing somewhere far off through the house- Carlisle had left us alone.

I closed my eyes and started to think, trying to make sense of everything that happened. "So Jake was the one that…"

"Hurt Rosalie, yes." Edward was suddenly very tense. "He thought she was going to hurt Melanie, too. Apparently she has a penchant for danger like yours- and always being the last one to leave your parties."

"She was jealous." I muttered, knowing that had to make things harder on Jake. But why should I care? He tried to hurt me.

"Yes," Edward said cautiously. "That's why she usually stuck around. Once she decided to go somewhere, Jacob would be there, too. That's why Alice lost all her visions. He wasn't after us- he just wanted to watch her."

I paused for a minute, letting this sink in. "But why watch her from me? Who could I hurt?"

"I don't like admitting this," Edward said slowly, "but I don't think Jacob is completely in his right mind right now. He's pushing away his imprint- and those things are something deep in his genetics, something he can't control. The more he tries to deny it, the stronger it seems to want to pull him back to her and make him do what he's supposed to do. He's becoming a bit crazed with saving her life- he refuses to believe he'd ever fall in love with anyone but you. Only his delirium could cause him to put another life over yours."

A part of me felt sort of jealous, but a part of me was happy, too. I wanted Jake happy, didn't I? He had finally found that person he was destined to be happy with- someone who was close to the love I felt for Edward. But he wasn't happy, he was pushing it away.

"Emmett…" I said suddenly, and I heard Edward sigh.

"Emmett is determined to kill him." Edward said finally, and I shivered. I couldn't help it- Emmett against Jake was incredibly scary. "Carlisle is trying to calm the matter, but Emmett sees no way around revenge now. He's trying to use your finger to fuel the fire- no offense, Bella, but I told him it was just a finger, and when he's rolling on top of you and crushes a leg we'll talk."

I was glad Edward seemed to have calmed down a bit since our last talk. At least tonight I could sleep, even if I did have a massive headache and I couldn't even spend the right kind of bedtime on my honeymoon.

"Things will be better tomorrow, Bella." He promised, and I had no idea what he had in mind, but I knew it would be something. "Believe me."

Of course, I believed him. He'd never lie to me.

* * *

So, there you go! Jacob's going crazy, so to speak. Don't worry, we'll get more in-depth on this later, but you have to give Edward credit for getting as much out of their thoughts as he did while he was ready to smash Jacob into powder. Since Jacob is trying to push away his imprint, he's becoming even more crazed about it, unable to admit that's what she is, but unable to leave her alone for even a second, to let even the tiniest threat- who would probably be Bella- get anywhere near her. Here are the big questions: Where'd Jacob go? Will Emmett get his revenge? Will Edward and Bella have their honeymoon? Don't worry, there's more action to come! ;)


	14. Chapter 14

I MISS YOU ALL! I can't believe people are still putting this on lists and whatnot. I haven't updated in SO LONG! But please, if you're still interesting in reading, **leave a review!!** I know I'm always hounding you guys, but seriously this time. I don't know if anyone even cares any more, and there's so much more to come! Just because we know the secret doesn't mean it makes enough sense yet. ;)

* * *

When I woke up, I realized three things. The first thing was that one of my fingers hurt- really hurt. And I could hardly move it. I tried to flex it, and it gave no response- of course. It was in a splint. Second. I realized I was married. There were two rings on my finger now, (one of the fingers that was still completely in tact,) and as far as I could tell, they would continue to stay there for eternity. And lastly, probably most importantly, I had spent the night of my wedding asleep in my bed in the Cullen house. That had definitely not been a part of my plans. I groaned, curling myself up on the bed. The memories of the day before flooded into my head quickly. I felt incredibly disoriented as I thought it over. There was no way Jake had attacked me; it wasn't something he would do, no matter if he was in his right mind or not. I scrunched up my eyebrows, thinking. Edward seemed to think Jake was out of his mind. Could his need to push against everything his mind was telling him do that to him? I knew that answer- yes. Pushing against everything you knew was true and trying to make your life go a completely different way could drive you insane. I immediately wanted to forgive him, to make sure he was okay. I didn't have it in me to be angry with him. Edward had made irrational decisions just like that one before. Well, not exactly just like, but he had done some stupid things on my behalf. Always so protective... I sighed, already missing him. He probably thought I was attempting more sleep.

I rolled around to find him, not even opening my eyes as I reached out for him, but I found nothing but air. I groaned in frustration. Hadn't he just said he'd be right here with me all night? Did he not count daytime, even though I had still been asleep? My stomach constricted with my sadness, I wanted him here now. I felt worse than I had with him gone in a long time, and I couldn't figure out why. My entire body went from just fine to burning hot, and I felt clammy all over. I opened my eyes, confused, until I felt something rising up my throat. This was definitely not sadness constricting my stomach. I ran as fast as I could toward the bathroom, and hardly made it.

After I threw up, I curled myself against the bathroom floor and closed my eyes. I was burning hot, I felt like I was on fire, and only the cool tile of the bathroom was making me feel better. "Edward..." I groaned, trying to push myself up, immediately becoming very dizzy. Obviously walking was not something I was meant to do at the moment.

He appeared in a flash, his face going from confused to understanding, the click of his realization flashing in his eyes. He bent down beside me, pushing my hair out of my face, touching my forehead. "Bella," he murmured, staring, horrified. "You're burning."

I nodded, my eyebrows furrowing together, suddenly angry with him. If he had not left me in bed, somehow, this wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't be feeling this terrible. "Where were you?" I demanded, my voice gurgled.

Edward's eyes tightened and he closed them for just a moment, still caressing my face as he did so. "We've had a visitor."

I could tell from the look on his face that this was not the kind of visitor one enjoyed the company of. I tried to push myself up again, and instead of pushing me down, he scooped me up. I loved the feeling of his chest against my face, so I pressed it there. "Take your shirt off." I muttered, and I could hear him laugh.

"Is it really the time for that, Bella?" he teased, and I groaned.

"Not like that," I muttered. "It's cool." I paused for a minute. "What visitor?"

"Oh, you know." Edward said, taking the finger with the splint on it and holding it. I had completely forgotten of the pain in my finger until then. "The one who gave you this wedding gift."

My eyes opened, wide. "Jacob?!" I was horrified. A million thoughts were flying through my head. How had I not heard the sounds of Emmett tearing him to pieces?!

Edward seemed to understand, and he sighed. "It seems last night Rosalie and Emmett decided a millionth honeymoon would be fun." he shrugged, still rocking me slowly. I wasn't sure we were even going anywhere now.

I suddenly felt terrible. Rosalie was trying to get Emmett's mind off of Jacob. This was my fault. "I ran them off. Again." I sighed, and then my eyes widened. I could feel it coming up again. This fast?! I couldn't believe it. "I'm going to...." I made a face, and Edward had me back at the toilet in no time.

This time, he held my hair back and made sure I was okay, rubbing my back. "I don't like this much." he muttered. "I think we should go to the hospital."

"It's just a virus or something." I explained, rolling my eyes and getting up toward the sink to get my toothbrush. "They'll tell me to ride it out and send me on my way." He was immediately behind me, attempting to keep me up.

"Isn't this a nice change of pace?" he said, amused. "Usually I have to keep far away from you when you're sick. Now you need me more than ever."

"I'm glad you're enjoying this." I snapped, spitting out my toothpaste. "And where's Jacob?!"

"You don't want to talk to him, do you?" He asked, and I could hear the underlying tone in his voice—he was disgusted with the thought.

"Why do you ask?" I replied, washing my mouth out.

"Because if you want to, I'll have to let you, of course." He said, as if this question was silly.

"Well, I want to." I determined, turning to face him. My head spun. I groaned and put a hand to my forehead.

"Of course you would." he said smoothly, scooping me up and starting toward the stairs.

* * *

Alice was not the least bit happy about this arrangement. She seemed she was ready to fight both Edward and Jacob over it, especially given my condition. Upon seeing the look on my face she gave a snarl like I had never heard. Jasper had to calm her down, and even after she looked outraged.

Jacob was standing, near the door, obviously ready to make a break for it. Edward sat me down on the couch and then put me in his lap, holding his arms around me, attempting to protect me from whatever. I stared at Jake, worried for him.

We stared at each other for a minute, both of us confused on what to say. Finally, Jacob attempted to speak.

"I didn't...." he closed his eyes. "How's your finger?"

I held it up for him to see. He groaned.

"I didn't mean to do that." he muttered.

"Oh, please!" I heard Edward say under his breath, and Jake shook his head, fast.

"I didn't! I never would have..." he stopped. He was shaking. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Bells. I'm not thinking any more. My body is reacting for me instead of me making the decisions. I didn't even realize what was going on until it was too late." he took a deep breath, the shaking subsiding.

"I know." I replied, and I could hear the collective groans of all the vampires in the room. This sent Jake off again.

"NO!" he roared, and I didn't understand what was going on. He had been just fine a second ago. Something was wrong with him. Something wasn't right. He was right. Edward was right, someone was at least. Jacob had a problem. But I couldn't think long enough to figure out what it was. I cringed, the sound of the roar filling my head like a piercing scream. My head hurt too much for that.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" he demanded, and suddenly we were standing up, and I was dead behind Edward. Jacob had made an attempt to walk closer to me, and Edward's little amount of patience had just worn itself thin. A low growl was coming from his chest, and I turned to see Alice and Jasper on both sides of me. Alice was now holding me up, since Edward couldn't, and I thought for sure I was going to fall over now. I was exhausted with sick.

Jake was shaking again, worse than before. "I have to keep her safe." he told me, only me, staring through Edward and right where my eyes were. I could feel it. "I have to keep her safe, that's all I've been doing for weeks, no matter what. She almost died, I saved her and she just..." he closed his eyes, the shaking even harder now. They looked like tremors going through his body. Then, he was out the door. He bolted and he ran, and when I looked out the door I could see nothing but the wolf.

"Treaty broken." I heard Jasper say, and I couldn't take the thought of that. I should have hit the floor, but instead I hit stone. Six stone arms were trying to catch me at the same time, and then I blacked out.

* * *

I didn't wake back up for a long time. I dreamed the same dream, over and over on repeat, a dream of Carlisle fighting against Sam, leader against leader, Sam's hands covered in what had to be blood, though I couldn't figure out why, and I could smell it in the air. It made me even woozier, though I couldn't get away from the fight. Then Sam moved toward Carlisle with what I thought was some sort of sadness, and four wolves closed around him, seeming to jump in from the tops of the trees around them.

And I screamed. This wasn't fair- Carlisle could take on one of them, maybe even two of them easily. I knew he was strong and smart. But five of them?! No one was a match like that. Why were they fighting so underhandedly?! And why were they fighting at all!?

When I woke up, I could taste the blood in my mouth. That worried me. What had happened? I opened my eyes, frantic. I was immediately confused when I found I was somewhere I had never remembered being. I was at a hotel.

I turned, and there was Edward. Shirtless. Good, he had finally listened to my demands. I curled into him, and he looked worried.

"You threw up so much that you were vomiting blood." he told me, sighing. "And I don't think the best place to do that is in a house full of vampires."

I stared at him. "I've been throwing up?!"

His eyebrows went up. "You don't remember? I know you were a bit out of it, but I thought that was just after..."

I shook my head, not really caring. "I'm sorry." I told him, pressing my forehead to his chest, enjoying the coolness of it.

He grabbed my face and pulled it up, staring at me, his eyes bright gold and making me melt. "For what?" he asked me, and I thought he must have been insane.

"Some honeymoon." I told him, muttering, embarrassed, and he laughed.

"Well, we did get ourselves a nice hotel room, and I'm not fully clothed. That's about what most people get on their honeymoon."

"Most of them aren't vomiting."

"Yes, this is very true." he chuckled, kissing my nose. "Since when are we ever normal?"

He pulled away, an odd look on his face. "Now please go brush your teeth." he scrunched up his nose, obviously making fun of me. "You kind of smell."

I started to get up, and I realized I was feeling a bit better as I made my way to the bathroom, where Edward had already put my things for the night. "How's Jacob?" I called, hoping to sound nonchalant, but my throat tightened. There were so, so many things I should have said to him while he was there, and yet I ignored them all. There was so much unfinished business. I almost felt delirious thinking of it. It hurt.

"He didn't return." Edward said simply, and something told me he did not want to be talking about Jacob right now. There was too much going on in my life. I didn't have the time or patience to process it, sift through it and understand. I felt dizzy and disoriented, but a lot less sick. I wondered how Edward managed to get a hotel room and put me in it while I acted like a zombie.

I sighed, now understanding why Edward hadn't kissed me on the lips. There was still blood in my mouth. How disgusting of a honeymoon this must be for him. I looked down at the rings on my finger, thinking it over. We had really expected this to make things better. We thought that everything would stop when we got married, and it seemed that it had just thrown us into an even worse turmoil.

This would be an interesting next few days.


End file.
